Trouble on Tracy Island
by grnfield
Summary: As a terrible flu-like virus sweeps the island, some family members are hit harder than others.
1. Chapter 1

Trouble on Tracy Island by Emma Nisbet (grnfield)

**Author's note: This story was spawned by a scene that was stuck in my head upon waking up the other day. The 'picture' in my head was so vivid that it screamed out to have a story written around it. I had an idea what the story would be and how it would go but it very soon mutated into something completely different to what I had planned!**

**I hope you like the idea and what I've done with it!**

**Usual disclaimer applies: if you recognise anyone the chances are they were thought up and developed by Gerry Anderson. If you don't recognise them then they are probably mine!**

~#~

Summary: As a terrible flu-like virus sweeps the island, some family members are hit harder than others.

~#~ (Chapter 1)

Alan was given the task of flying Grandma back to her farm in Kansas. One of the old woman's closest friends had lost her husband the week before and Ruth wanted to be there to give her the emotional support that she so desperately needed.

Tin-Tin accompanied Alan and Ruth, mainly because Grandma had persuaded Jeff that it would be good for the two youngsters to have some time away from the confines of the island. She had suggested that Tin-Tin would also be able to share the piloting duties with Alan and pointed out that the youngest Tracy boy would probably appreciate some company on the trip back.

Jeff had initially balked at the idea of letting Tin-Tin and Alan go together but soon realised that sending Tin-Tin along for the ride meant that Scott, Gordon and Virgil would all still be available should a rescue be called in. He begrudgingly gave the pair a five day leave of absence from the island and sent them on their way with a stern instruction to behave themselves.

~#~

Tin-Tin and Alan spent a day in Kansas before flying to Colorado to catch up with a couple of Alan's racing buddies. While there they decided to treat themselves and spent the last few days in a hideously expensive hotel in Florida.

Unfortunately by the time they came home, the pair were both showing signs of the start of a cold. This developed over the next few days until the very miserable youngsters both had a high temperature, a raging sore throat and a vicious, hacking cough.

Brains, who was almost guaranteed to come down with the virus due to treating both Alan and Tin-Tin, prescribed zinc tablets to everyone on the island and suggested that they all upped their vitamin intake for a couple of weeks. This seemed to help slow the spread of the virus for a while but gradually, one by one, everyone began to suffer from one or more flu-like symptoms.

~#~

As soon as Brains began coughing, Jeff called Ruth and told her that she would have to remain in Kansas until the island was clear of the virus. Ruth, surprisingly, didn't argue about this and Jeff wondered if she was secretly enjoying the peace and quiet that she so rarely got at home.

John quarantined himself up on Five and told Jeff, in no uncertain terms, that he wasn't to send anyone up to the space station until every last trace of the virus was gone. Jeff had no problems with agreeing to this as he knew that John was terrified of ending up in hospital again with the breathing problems he'd experienced when he was younger. An eight year old John had successfully managed to hide the fact that he was sick from both his parents until one morning when Lucy's shrieks had woken the entire house. Lucille Tracy, heavily expectant mother of four had gone to find out why John hadn't come down for breakfast and had found her second-born son slumped on his bed, blue-tinged and struggling for breath.

John didn't really remember the panic that ensued, nor the ambulance ride to the hospital but he clearly remembered waking up with tubes forcing oxygen into his nose and seeing his grandmother's worry-filled eyes staring down at him.

The concern over John's condition had pushed Lucille into premature labour and Alan had been born, five weeks early, just two and a half hours after John's admittance to the hospital. John remembered how he hadn't been allowed to visit either his mother or baby brother for fear of him passing any infection onto the delicate newborn and how Jeff had been forced to wear a mask whenever he visited John. Ruth, to her credit, had done the opposite to Jeff and had remained with John throughout his stay in hospital and had worn a mask during each of her limited her visits to Alan and his mother.

At the time, Kyrano had been living in a small house that Jeff had built for him near the edge of the Tracy farm in Kansas. A long-time friend of Jeff's, he had moved onto the farm immediately after the death of his wife so that both Lucille and Ruth could help him care for his newborn baby daughter. During the two weeks that Jeff, Lucy and Ruth spent at the hospital with John and Alan, the quiet Malaysian man simply moved himself and his now six month old daughter into the main farmhouse to take care of Scott, Virgil and Gordon.

~#~

Back in the present, Kyrano proved to be a source of amazement on the island. Having been in direct contact with both Alan and Tin-Tin, he theoretically should have been one of the first to succumb to the virus but after almost a month he was the only one who hadn't been affected by it at all.

Brains caught and shook off the cold in less than a week, as did Scott and Virgil who barely had a bad case of the sniffles between them. Gordon discovered that he was unable to swim due to a build-up of pressure in his sinuses and then had a miserable time when the hacking cough, which matched Alan's, caused painful spasms in the already abused muscles of his damaged back.

Jeff's symptoms matched Gordon's in the respect that his nasal and aural tubes became blocked before the virus then settled on his chest and developed into a nasty cough.

Luckily for everyone on the island, things were very quiet on the rescue front. John kept in constant contact, as did Grandma and between the two they managed to keep everyone's spirits up while they were recuperating.

~#~

Gordon's back was still giving him trouble at the end of the following week. Everyone had noticed the tell-tale glassy look in his eyes that meant he was taking the heavy-duty prescription painkillers that he usually tried so hard to avoid and all four brothers had, separately, voiced their concern over his wellbeing to their father.

He was still struggling by the time the next rescue call came in.

Jeff, who was still congested and suffering from a lingering cough, had taken to wearing a thick, brown housecoat even though it was warm enough in the villa to warrant switching the air conditioning on. He had been halfway across the room when John's portrait started to flash and he wrapped the coat tighter around himself and shuffled slowly across to his desk where he flopped down into his chair with a weary sigh.

"What have you got John?" he asked breathlessly and then immediately held up a hand in order to stop the space monitor from answering when a coughing fit overtook him.

Alerted by John's frantic calls from the office, Scott and Virgil rushed in from the kitchen and headed straight for their father. Scott perched on the edge of the desk and clapped him firmly on the back while Virgil poured a glass of water which he pressed into Jeff's hand once Scott had managed to calm him down a little.

Scott's worried blue eyes met Virgil's concerned brown ones as the brothers saw how badly Jeff's hands were shaking as he sipped at the water. Scott opened his mouth to comment but Alan came barrelling into the room before he got a sound out. "Dad!" he cried. "Scott! What's going on? Dad, you look terrible, is everything alright?"

Virgil caught hold of Alan before he managed to literally throw himself into Jeff's lap. Alan gently shrugged off the hand and crouched on the floor beside his father's chair. "Dad?" he asked quietly. "Are you OK?"

Jeff leant back in his chair and handed the empty glass to Scott who was hovering beside him after climbing off the desk. He gave a deep sigh and then took in the worried expressions on Scott, Virgil, Alan and John's faces.

"Boys, I'm alright," he said quietly. "…but I seem to be feeling my age this morning." Jeff reached out to Alan and pulled him into a gentle hug before letting him go and resting a hand in his messy blonde hair. "I'm not as young as I used to be and it's just taking me a bit longer than you lot to shake off this damn cough. I'll be as right as rain by next week, you mark my words."

Jeff looked up and met Scott's eyes in a silent plea for him to remain quiet. Scott's room shared a wall with Jeff's and he knew full well that his father had barely slept for the past week. Jeff's coughing had been keeping Scott awake well into the early hours and several times he had gone to sit in his office in an attempt to allow his eldest son to get some sleep. This had turned out to be a pointless exercise because Scott would generally come looking for him within a few minutes of him leaving his room. Both men had eventually given up all pretence of trying to sleep and had taken to sitting in the kitchen for hours on end which at least allowed the others to sleep in peace.

Scott gave a brief nod before his attention was drawn to a movement in the doorway. Gordon, who had been leaning heavily on the wall just outside Jeff's office had pulled himself up to the doorframe and was swaying slightly as he tried to judge the distance between the doorway and the nearest couch.

Virgil, who had followed Scott's gaze towards the door, crossed the room and, with an arm across the aquanaut's shoulders, directed Gordon over to and onto one of the couches. Once Gordon was settled Virgil then squatted on the floor in front of him and gently tilted Gordon's head towards the window so he could look at the red-head's eyes.

Gordon briefly objected to being manhandled but submitted to the gentle coaxing of his middle brother and allowed Virgil to check him over.

"Not feeling any pain today, are we Gordy?" the artist said quietly as he looked at the slightly vacant expression in Gordon's eyes. "You know I really think we need to get Brains to have a proper look at you. There's no way you should still need so many tablets just to get you going in the morning. If the coughing has caused some physical damage to your back then it needs fixing, not just burying under a haze of drugs. Look at you, you're barely functioning."

"No." Gordon's voice came out as barely a whisper so only Virgil could hear it. "I don't want anyone else digging around back there. I've had enough of that already. Leave it Virg, just leave it."

Virgil shrugged and hauled himself up off the floor before dropping gently onto the couch to the right of his brother. Gordon leaned heavily against him so he hooked his left arm across his younger brother's shoulders before turning to the portrait where his directly older brother still sat. "So, John, did you call Dad or did he call you?" he asked and then frowned slightly when John began to look a little flustered.

"Um," John began. "I called in. We have a rescue…well sort of…I've received…a…a call for help but…well…no-one's in any immediate danger at the moment."

Jeff leant forwards in his chair. "Explain," he said quietly. "You know the rules, John. We don't launch unless there are lives at risk."

John nodded and then looked over at Gordon and winced. "It's…um…well…we're going to need Four, Father. The Darwinian Cloud is the vehicle that's in trouble. She's a research sub that was set to do a deep survey of the Kermadec Trench, just off New Zealand. My information is a little sketchy but from what I can gather the Cloud somehow became entangled in her own tow cables and is now dead in the water. The cables are holding her steady at about four and a half thousand feet down and WASP don't have anything that can reach it. The crew are contactable by radio and they're faring surprisingly well, so far. They have enough air, food and water to last them the best part of two weeks but after that…"

John fell quiet and watched as Jeff turned to look at Gordon's defeated stance. The aquanaut had gradually sunk deeper into Virgil's side as John had been speaking and was now staring sightlessly at his knees.

Gordon felt his father's gaze on him and knew that Jeff was waiting for some sort of response. "I doubt I could even get into Four at the moment," he said quietly. "…and even if I did it probably wouldn't be safe for me to try and do anything with her."

Jeff nodded and then grabbed for the glass, which Scott had refilled, when the movement threatened to set of another bout of coughing. After taking a sip of water and clearing his throat, he decided it was probably safe to speak. "John, tell them we're on our way. Scott, there's no point in taking One as there won't be anywhere for you to put her down so I'd like you to ride shotgun with Virgil in Two. Alan, other than Gordon you've had more hours in Four than any of the boys so you'll be carrying out the bulk of the rescue today."

Alan looked at Gordon who remained motionless. "Yes, Sir," he said quietly and then clambered to his feet and hurried after Scott who was heading towards the passenger lift that would take him down to Thunderbird 2.

Virgil was still supporting most of Gordon's weight and was loath to leave him when he seemed so vulnerable. He knew, however, that he needed to get moving otherwise Scott and Alan would beat him to Two. Neither the oldest nor the youngest Tracy had any patience for waiting and Virgil realised that he'd be in for an uncomfortable journey if he didn't get down there quickly.

He gently wrapped his right arm around the front of Gordon and hugged him tightly. After a long moment he sat the aquanaut upright and leaned over to whisper something in his ear. The red-head finally raised his eyes to meet his brother's and slowly nodded his reply. Virgil smiled and released him and then stood up and wandered over to the hidden doorway to Thunderbird 2. The rocket picture promptly flipped him over and whisked him away into the bowels of the island's dormant volcano.


	2. Chapter 2

~#~ (Chapter 2)

Both Jeff and Gordon remained in their seats until Thunderbird 2 was hovering over the patch of ocean that hid the Darwinian Cloud. Gordon clambered to his feet when Virgil announced that Alan was preparing to launch Thunderbird 4 and Jeff watched as he carefully navigated the room in such a way that he always had either a piece of furniture or a wall to lean on.

"Gordon," he called softly as his son paused and leaned heavily on the doorframe. "Are you alright?"

Gordon stopped and shrugged. "Not really," he replied. "I can't swim, I can barely walk and now I'm apparently out of a job. I…I…Dad, I'm having a hard time seeing the point of carrying on at the moment."

Jeff's heart clenched at Gordon's confession. The aquanaut had struggled with depression in the months after the horrific hydrofoil accident that had nearly killed him but with the love and dedication of his family he had eventually come through it as a stable and fully-functioning young man. It seemed that what he was going through at that moment had brought all the old fears and insecurities back to the surface and Jeff briefly wondered whether his son was strong enough to pull himself back from the brink a second time.

Gordon could see the thoughts running through Jeff's eyes and looked shamefacedly at the floor. "Don't worry. I'm not going to do anything stupid. It's just…um…it's…" Gordon couldn't work out what 'it' was and shrugged. "I'm going to make us a drink," he said. "I don't know how long I'll be but I'll be back."

~#~

The moment that Gordon set foot into the corridor, Jeff was overtaken by another coughing fit. Gordon paused by the door, waited until he was convinced his father was breathing normally and then slowly headed for the kitchen.

Gordon was both physically and mentally exhausted by the time he reached the kitchen and after standing at the counter and looking helplessly around, he finally admitted defeat and struggled to his room to fetch a walking cane. Once he'd located the hateful object he fished around in his bedside table and pulled out a bottle of painkillers. He tipped a couple out, dry swallowed them and then hobbled back to the kitchen to finish the drinks which he put on a small silver tray. He held the tray in his right hand and rested it on his hip while he used his other hand to support most of his bodyweight on his cane.

~#~

Jeff was sitting quietly behind his desk when Gordon walked back in with the drinks. Seeing his son struggling with the tray, he jumped to his feet only to find himself wracked with a sudden onset of pain in his chest. He clawed feebly at his shirt for a moment as if to rid himself of the indescribable agony. A moment later he managed a breathy exclamation of 'Gord…' and then his eyes rolled back in his head and he dropped to the floor, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

Gordon heard Jeff's pained inhalation of breath and looked up just in time to see his father clutching at his chest and then falling to the floor. Two coffee cups and a silver tray hit the floor mere moments after Jeff did as Gordon threw them aside in his haste to cross the room.

"Dad," he cried. "Oh God, Dad."

Gordon reached his father and fell to his knees, mindless of the pain that this caused him. He immediately lifted Jeff's head and shoulders onto his lap and pressed a finger against his pulse point to reassure himself that the older man was still alive.

Jeff's heartbeat was strong, if a little fast but his breathing was fast and far shallower than Gordon was happy with. He let out a high pitched groan and then yelled loudly for his brothers to come and help him.

When no-one came in answer to his calls, Gordon burst into tears and pulled Jeff's limp body higher up onto his lap. He sat there like that for a few minutes until he suddenly remembered that his brothers were out on a rescue but that he could contact them via their watches.

As soon as he realised this Gordon slapped his watch hard and screamed for Virgil.

~#~

Virgil had all his concentration focussed on pulling 7,500 tons of submarine to the surface of the Pacific Ocean when Gordon's call came through. He startled badly and lost his grip on Two's delicate control yoke, when the watch on his arm suddenly screeched his name. A second later Thunderbird 2 had lost a third of her hovering height and the Darwinian Cloud had plunged speedily back down into the Kermadec Trench. Alan barely had time to pull Thunderbird 4 out of the way of the nose-diving submarine before it settled, with a sickening crunch, back at the end of its tow cables.

A much-shaken Virgil managed to stop Two's downward plummet and settled her back into a gentle hover before his watch screamed his name again, this time with the voice of all four of his brothers.

With his heart still hammering in his chest, Virgil pressed Scott, Alan and John's buttons on his watch. "S…s…sorry," he said quietly. "I…er…listen." He then pressed the button that would add Gordon to the conversation so the other three could hear the ranting coming from the island.

Gordon had clearly reached the end of whatever self-control he'd had left that morning and was babbling almost incoherently. Loud sobs and gasps were heard through the watches and the brothers barely managed to make out the words, 'Dad', 'floor', 'help' and the much-repeated 'gil which everyone assumed was probably supposed to be 'Virgil'.

Scott, who was in the process of picking himself up off the floor of Thunderbird 2's cavernous winch room, frowned. "What the hell?" he murmured and then spoke into his watch. "Gordon," he said loudly. "Gordon, listen to me. You've got to calm down. We can't make out what you're saying and if we can't understand you then we can't help you. Gordon!" The last word was said in Scott's strictest USAF voice but even this wasn't enough to break through Gordon's panicked ramblings.

"John," Scott spoke quieter this time. "Activate your portrait and see if you can make any sense of what's going on…and try to get hold of Brains…or failing that, Tin-Tin. Alan, what's the status of the Cloud now? Are you still in contact with the crew? Are they OK?"

"Affirmative Scott. From what I can hear, it sounds like they're a little shaken but everyone's pretty much alright. My sensors show that the emergency lighting and heating are still functioning and the sub seems to be structurally sound but it's hanging at a far steeper angle than it was when we started. It's holding pressure though, at the moment, which has to be a good sign."

Scott nodded. "I'm going to have to tell them something. Um…I think I'll go with 'some sort of mechanical failure'. Virg, you keep trying to get through to Gordon. John?"

"I'm working on it," came John's terse reply. "I can't see anything other than the desk and the top of Gordon's head from my picture. He's rocking back and forth on the floor behind the desk but there's no sign of Father at all. I've tried yelling to attract Gordon's attention but he won't respond to me and I'm trying to persuade Five to let me onto either Alan or Gordon's portraits so I can see round the side of the desk. My guess is that…Ah, got it! Scott, Dad's down…repeat, Dad's down. Brains, where the hell are you? Hurry it up; you need to get in there now."

Scott closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Despite wanting desperately to know what was happening at home, he had a job to do. They all had jobs to do but he was the public face of International Rescue. He was the one that people relied on for information and for reassurance that they were going to get out of their particular situation in one piece and he urgently needed to speak to the people aboard the sub that sat so far below them.

"John, I'm going to have to leave the island in your hands for the moment," he said quietly. "I'll make our excuses and then we need to get this rescue finished. We need to get that thing back on the surface and back to port just as soon as we possibly can. Then, and only then, can we even start to think about what's going on at home. John, we'll radio in once the sub's back where it belongs. Don't contact us unless it's absolu…no, just don't contact us, full stop."

"What if Dad…" John started and then stopped immediately as Scott's face flicked up onto his screen and he realised that his eldest brother had cut the others off.

"Don't say it," Scott said quietly. "…but even if, God forbid, the worst has happened. Do. Not. Call."

John couldn't answer past the lump in his throat so he just nodded and then looked over to the screen that was monitoring the island. "Gordon, no!" he yelled. "Crap. Scott, I gotta go."

With that, Scott was left with a blank screen and a very bad feeling about what they were going to find once they finally got home.


	3. Chapter 3

~#~ (Chapter 3)

The second attempt at rescuing the Darwinian Cloud went off without a hitch. Rather than attempting to untangle the submarine from its cables, they simply raised her to the surface and used the same cables to tow her, with her crew still aboard, to the large shipping port at Onehunga.

Scott tried to call Thunderbird 5 as soon as Thunderbird 2 was free of the sub. He became a little apprehensive when John failed to respond to his repeated hails and ordered Virgil to get them home at top speed.

The radio remained worryingly silent until they were nearly home when Virgil called in to request clearance for landing. The three occupants of Thunderbird 2 were worried beyond belief when Kyrano responded to the hail. He told them that the cliff face was open and ready for landing and suggested that they should forgo any post-flight checks for the time being as they needed to go straight to the sickroom immediately upon leaving Thunderbird 2.

~#~

There was no-one to greet them as they left the great, green ship so the boys did as they had been told and headed for the sickroom.

As they approached the door of the sickroom, the brothers looked at each other in confusion. Rather than the hive of activity that they had been expecting, everything was still. The rhythmical beeping sound of a pair of heart monitors could be heard, along with the gentle whoosh of an oxygen cylinder but other than that it was quiet and peaceful.

Scott pushed his way into the room and frowned. Two of the hospital-style beds had been pushed together and their inside legs had been fixed with cable ties. Someone had raised the head of the left-hand bed and this is where Jeff was sitting. The Tracy patriarch had his arm resting casually on the raised knee of his right leg and when he heard the door swish open, he looked up and smiled past the nasal cannula that he was wearing.

The other bed in the pair had been left flat and this was where Gordon was to be found. The aquanaut was resting on his side, curled into a ball and seemed to be lying as close to his father as he could possibly get. His hands, one of which had an IV tube attached to it, were tucked beneath his chin and his forehead was resting against the thick brown cotton pant leg that covered Jeff's left hip.

Jeff's hand stayed in constant motion through Gordon's hair as Scott approached. Virgil and Alan moved to follow and then backtracked and headed for Brains who appeared in the doorway of the small office which serviced the sickroom.

Tin-Tin followed Brains from the office and walked straight into Alan's arms before burying her face in his chest. Alan wrapped his hands around her and looked over at Brains with a quizzical expression on his face when he felt how badly she was shaking.

"We h-h-haven't had an easy c-c-couple of hours," he explained. "…and I-I-I'm afraid it is-is-isn't really over yet e-e-either."

"What do you mean, Brains?" Virgil asked quietly. "…or more specifically who do you mean? Father looks better than I'd hoped, albeit you've got him on oxygen which I wasn't necessarily expecting but well, I suppose what we need to ask it what's up with them both."

Tin-Tin shuddered and burrowed deeper into Alan as he, Virgil and Brains turned and looked to where Jeff was being scrutinised by Scott. The eldest Tracy son had his hand against Jeff's left temple and had turned his father's head towards the window so he could see the vicious looking bruise which marred Jeff's right cheek.

Virgil let out a quiet chuckle as he watched Jeff remove his head from Scott's grasp and pat him gently on the arm. Scott leant over and gave him a quick hug and then leant further over and rested the palm of his hand gently on Gordon's shoulder. Gordon squirmed slightly and Scott hurriedly pulled his hand back out of the way to allow Jeff to go back to stroking Gordon's soft, auburn hair.

Scott crammed both his hands under his armpits so he couldn't interfere and then perched on the bed beside Jeff and looked lost. Virgil crossed the room and rested beside him which drew a small smile from the older brother and they were joined a few moments later by Brains, Alan and Tin-Tin.

Tin-Tin had been forced to emerge from Alan's chest so they could cross the room and she snuggled back against his side once he stopped moving. Between them, she and Brains ran through the details of what had happened immediately after John had ordered them to the lounge…

"M-M-Mr Tracy was completely un-un-unresponsive when we en-en…when we entered the room," Brains explained. "G-G-Gordon was s-supporting his head and sh-sh-shoulders b-b-but I don't think he re-re-really knew what he was doing or w-w-why."

"No," Tin-Tin added quietly. "He didn't. He didn't really know who we were when we tried to speak to him, all he seemed to know was that Mr Tracy was in trouble and that he needed to look after him."

Brains nodded. "T-T-True," he agreed. "…and i-i-it went d-downhill from there on i-i-in."

"It was horrible," Tin-Tin said with a shudder. "John told Gordon that he needed to let Brains have a look at Mr Tracy and he…he just sort of flipped out. He called John some awful names and then threw the big stone paperweight from the desk into the screen that was connected to Thunderbird 5. The screen smashed into a shower of glass and electrical sparks and Gordon tried to pull Mr Tracy further behind the desk to protect him from the debris. I'm not quite sure what happened but I don't think Gordon can have had a good enough grip on him because he…um…he…"

"He dropped me, Tin-Tin," Jeff said with a sigh. "For whatever reason, he dropped me and it appears that I hit the desk on the way back down to the floor. That's where this came from." Jeff waved his hand across his bruised cheek and then turned and went back to stroking Gordon's hair.

"Th-th-that's right," Brains continued. "A-a-and it appears that Gordon blame-blame-blamed us for Mr Tracy's accident. J-J-John managed to re-re-reconnect himself u-using Alan's view-screen a-and he could t-tell that something had ha-happened a-although he was-was-wasn't sure what."

"Gordon started hurling abuse at John again almost as soon as he reappeared," Tin-Tin took up the story again. "I can only assume that John was familiar to him in the same way that Mr Tracy was but I don't really understand why he seemed to decide that John was…well, that he was public enemy number one."

Scott sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand. "Oh great. The fallout from today is just going to go on and on. Is that why Johnny seems to have…oh, that won't work, I was going to say why Johnny seems to have dropped off the face of the planet but…well, you know what I mean."

Brains nodded and then frowned and shook his head. "No-no-not exactly," he replied. "He…G-Gordon that is, wrapped an-an arm around Mr Tracy and-and started…um…crying. Ky-Kyrano came in at-at that p-p-point and tried t-to reason with him. I-it s-s-seemed that it m-might be working for a m-m-moment but Kyrano moved to take Mr-Mr Tracy from him just a little too-too-too soon."

Tin-Tin rested her head against Alan's shoulder for a moment and drew in a deep cleansing breath. "Gordon lashed out and tried to kick my father in the head," she said quietly. "Luckily he was neither fast enough nor accurate enough and Father managed to block the blow but it signalled the end of any chance of us getting Mr Tracy away from Gordon without…um…drastic measures. That's what upset John more than anything."

"Y-y-yes," agreed Brains. "J-John asked me to use a tran-tran-tranquiliser on Gordon b-but I-I-I said I co-couldn't because I di-di-didn't know what drugs G-G-Gordon had in his system already a-a-and therefore I-I couldn't possibly know what would be sa-sa-safe to use."

"It ended up as something of a Mexican stand-off," Tin-Tin murmured. "With myself, Brains and Father on one side, John on another and Gordon on the third. John broke the stalemate in the end when he ordered…and I mean he really _ordered_ Brains to take Gordon down using any means necessary. He said that it fell to him to make the final decision while Mr Tracy was unconscious and Scott was unavailable and he finished off by saying that Brains would in no way be held accountable if Gordon had any adverse reactions to anything administered on his say so. He said that he'd take full responsibility for everything if either Mr Tracy or Scott turned out to disagree with his decision."

"Fallout," Scott muttered quietly. "Big style fallout."

Scott jumped when Jeff reached out and gently squeezed his arm. "Don't worry, Scott, John'll be just fine. He's going to need a lot of reassuring over the next few weeks but he'll eventually come to believe that we think he did the right thing."

Scott nodded. "I take it there were no unpleasant side effects from what Johnny had you do to Gordon then, Brains? He seems pretty settled at the moment."

Brains shrugged. "No," he said. "There were no si-si-side effects as s-s-such but Gordon did-did-didn't go down easily. Despite not knowing exactly w-w-who he was or w-w-why he was there he st-st-still wo-wo-worked out what I was going to do with the h-hyperdermic. It took a g-g-great deal of se-se-sedative to take him down; f-far more than I was happy with a-a-and he's not-not-not staying completely under either. I-I-I really n-need to go through his room to f-f-find out exactly what he-he-he's been taking be-because his bloodwork is a-a real mess."

~#~

Authors note: The scene I had stuck in my head that inspired this story was Jeff on the hospital beds with a sedated Gordon curled up close beside him.


	4. Chapter 4

~#~ (Chapter 4)

As if he knew he was being spoken about, Gordon let out a whimper. He appeared to try to curl himself into a tighter ball but couldn't and he kicked out briefly with his left leg before falling quiet again.

Jeff resumed his petting of Gordon's hair as Scott turned back to Brains. "You don't know what he's got access to?" he asked. "What drugs, I mean?"

Brains shrugged. "I-I know," he replied. "…but only to a-a-a point. M-mainly so that I don't in-in-inadvertently give Gordon anything that has c-c-contraindications against an-an-any of his other d-d-drugs."

"The drugs for his back, along with their appropriate prescriptions are still handled by Doctor Levenson," Jeff said quietly. "Although you know as well as I do, that Gordon doesn't take as many of them as he probably should do."

"Until last week," Scott replied. "Brains, do you know why he's been in so much pain? Why he's felt the need to dose himself up with so many tablets that he eventually lost all touch with reality? As Dad said, he normally avoids taking them unless he absolutely has to."

Brains nodded. "Y-yes," he replied. "The f-f-first thing we di-di-did when we g-g-got in here was scan both G-Gordon and Mr T-T-Tracy."

"Yes," Alan said quietly. "We really shouldn't forget the fact that it was Dad's collapse that sort of started all of...um…this." He stopped and thought for a moment before adding, "I take it that's what happened, anyway. I mean, Gordon didn't…I don't know, knock you out or something?"

Jeff snorted and then let out a brief cough before wincing and looking worriedly towards Brains who nodded reassuringly. "Do-Don't worry, Mr T-Tracy. I-I-I'm keeping my eye on you. Y-y-your stats are good enough for n-now. J-j-just don't expect me to l-let you out of here until to-to-to…until at least tomorrow."

Jeff relaxed back against the back of his bed and watched as Virgil glanced up at the screen behind his bed.

After looking at the screen for a few moments, Virgil turned towards his father. "You're not doing bad at all," he remarked. "…but I have to say that it's just as well we banned Grandma from the island. I know she tries to make out that she's completely hale and hearty but any sort of pneumonia at her age…" Virgil closed his eyes and shuddered. "Dad, I had a feeling you weren't feeling as well as you were trying to make out. I asked Gordon…Oh, crap…" Virgil's eyes opened wide and he turned to look at Scott. "The last thing I said to Gordon, before when we left, was 'keep an eye on Dad for me, I don't think he's doing all that well'. Did I cause all this?"

Jeff shook his head. "No," he replied. "…at least not for the most part anyway. Apart from my not going to Brains soon enough, most of it was single-handedly caused by this one here." Jeff paused and laid his hand gently on Gordon's head. "…although again, to be fair, it wasn't entirely his fault."

"So what's up with him?" Alan asked quietly. "I mean, we've known that he's been struggling for weeks and we now know that he's been what? Mixing his meds? Overdosing himself? Why?"

"Alan, calm down," Jeff cautioned. "I've already said that it wasn't your brother's fault and that's the truth of it. At some point, possibly several weeks ago, some of the simulated nerve filaments in Gordon's back tore away from their…um…moorings. Brains pointed out that Gordon's been coughing badly and that he's also lost muscle mass due to being unable to swim for hours every day. He thinks that the combination of the two meant that the filaments in the area above Gordon's pelvis were stressed to the point where they couldn't hold together. Once some of them had come away it became like a cascade effect and basically it was only a matter of time before Gordon's legs and lower body functions began to shut down."

"The-the pain must have been phe-phenomenal," Brains added quietly. "…and I don't t-t-truly understand how Gordon kept going quite as lo-lo-long as he did."

Scott shook his head in dismay and reached out to Gordon before pulling his hand away when he remembered that he'd disturbed his brother the last time he'd touched him. "Is it fixable?" he asked quietly. "I mean, after everything he went through before…if he was to end up…"

"You c-c-can't think like that, S-Scott," Brains said, interrupting him quickly. "A-as far as I can tell from the sca-sca-scans, everything looks in-in-intact, it's all just kind of…um…fallen apart." Scott winced and Brains thought back over what he'd said. "I'm sorry, that-that-that's the only way I can think to ex-explain it."

Jeff nodded. "It's OK, Brains," he said softly. "I think we get the picture. Boys, Doctor Levenson will be here the day after tomorrow. Brains sent him Gordon's scans while I was speaking to him and after I explained our setup to him he said he was willing to fly out to take a look at Gordon. If he thinks the sickroom is suitable he will try and put Gordon back together without removing him from the island. He's agreed, only upon the proviso that I'll allow him to take Gordon back to the hospital with him if he should come across any…unforeseen problems. I know things will be a little awkward while he's here but if it comes to it I'll just have to explain things to him in regards to International Rescue. I had him checked out six ways from Sunday before I allowed him near Gordon in the first place so I know he can be trusted."

"True," Scott murmured. "…and if anything happens in the future then he'll understand why Gordon has to...um…why he pushes himself so hard." He stopped and ran his hands through his hair. "Now, what are we going to do about John?"

Jeff smiled sadly. "You're going to go and get him," he said softy. "You and Alan. I want you to put Five on auto and then I think you should all stay down here while Gordon recuperates. John can fill Gordon's shoes, so to speak, until he's ready to walk in them again and to be honest, he'll probably appreciate the chance to get his hands dirty for a change. I know he gets frustrated sometimes and that it seems that Alan gets to go out on far more rescues than he does. I don't plan it like that, it just…well, that's just the way it seems to turn out." Jeff shrugged and then tilted his head in the direction of the door to hint that Scott might want to go and get John sooner, rather than later.

Scott gave a tight smile and then turned towards his youngest brother. "Alan," he said and then repeated himself when Alan didn't immediately peel himself away from Tin-Tin. "Alan. If you don't get moving then I'll beat you to the sofa and you know the rule…"

Alan scowled and gave Tin-Tin a quick peck on the cheek before shooting swiftly through the door. Scott watched him go and grinned. "Works every time," he said with a chuckle.

"You're telling me he's never worked out that he's going to get to fly anyway?" Virgil asked incredulously. "No matter what order everyone gets on board?"

Scott shrugged and then grinned again. "I don't think he wants to risk it just to find out," he replied. "Right, that's probably enough of a head start. If he doesn't beat me now then he doesn't deserve to fly anyway. I'll see you all in a few hours."


	5. Chapter 5

~#~ (Chapter 5)

Thunderbird 3 was soon on approach to the large, grey and gold space station that hung in a geostationary orbit above their home, so many miles below.

Both Alan and Scott had attempted to hail John since leaving the island but had received no response on any of their attempts. This worried them in itself but more worrying to them was the fact that Thunderbird 3 was reporting that Five was already switched to auto. John was normally unwilling to leave his post while serving on the space station but today, after the traumas of the morning, he appeared to have done just that.

Alan used Thunderbird 3 to access Five's systems to give them clearance to dock. Once the docking procedure was complete the eldest and youngest Tracy brothers disembarked from the big red spaceship and went in search of their errant space monitor.

It was Scott who eventually found him.

After leaving Alan powering down non-essential systems in the control room, he had begun his search. He had checked the bedrooms, kitchen, rec room and observatory and had then returned to the control room and asked Alan to locate their missing brother using the transmitter in his watch. Alan had agreed and then chuckled when the watch pinpointed John's location to the bathroom on the floor below them.

Scott left Alan and set off down the corridor. As an afterthought he wandered back into the kitchen and removed a bottle of water from the refrigerator before finally heading to where John was waiting.

~#~

Scott pressed his ear to the door of the bathroom and listened. It was all quiet, as he'd guessed it would be, so he gently pressed the button and the door slid silently open.

A sour smell wafted out of the doorway and Scott wrinkled his nose before stepping into the room. John, wearing his blue jump suit and boots but missing his sash and hat, was sitting on the floor, wedged in the small gap between the toilet and the wall. His head was tipped forwards so Scott couldn't see his face but it was obvious from his deep, even breathing, that John was fast asleep.

Scott sat the unopened bottle of water on the floor between John's knees and then leant over and flushed the toilet to get rid of the last vestiges of vomit that clung to the bowl. "Oh Johnny," he whispered. "What are we going to do with you?"

The chemical flush had finished its almost-silent cycle so Scott crouched down in front of John and tenderly cupped a hand around the back of his head before gently shaking him by the shoulder to wake him up.

John woke with a start. His head flew up into Scott's hand and he looked around with a bewildered expression on his face. Scott smiled at him and then, without letting go of John's head, reached down and picked up the bottle of water with his free hand. He grasped the plastic bottle top between his teeth, turned the bottle around until the lid came off and then handed it to John. "Drink," he ordered and then pulled his hand out from behind John's head and sat down on the floor in front of him.

John gently sipped at the water and by the time half of it was gone he was feeling a lot better. He handed the bottle back to Scott and then peered up at his brother and frowned. "Why are you here?" he asked. "Is this about what happened earlier? About what I made Brains do to Gordon? He's alright, isn't he? Gordon, I mean…and Dad? He…he…he's not…?"

Scott rolled his eyes. "Don't start that again," he replied. "Dad's very much alive and looking better than he has in days, assuming you ignore the fact that he's got a nasal cannula shoved up his nose, of course. He's got some sort of bronchial pneumonia and Brains has him on medication and bed rest for the time being. He was sharing a bed with Gordy when I left and you know, it would've been cute if it wasn't quite so tragic."

"Tragic?" John questioned. "Why tragic? This is something to do with what went…um…wrong with Gordon this morning, isn't it?"

Scott nodded sadly and then briefly explained what Brains had found on the scans. He followed on by telling John how Gordon had been self-medicating in an attempt to find some relief from the unending pain he'd been suffering and then explained what little he knew about Doctor Levenson's impending visit.

A faint hum started from somewhere above them and both Scott and John smiled when Alan politely cleared his throat. "Um…hi fellas," he said quietly. "I've done everything I can think to do up here. Once we've killed the last of the circuits on your level we'll be ready to go."

Scott pressed a button on his watch so he could reply. "Give us a couple of minutes and we'll be there," he said softly. "…unless you want to start getting Three ready to go."

There was a brief pause before Alan spoke again. "OK, Scott, I'll be in Three if you need me. I take it everything's alright down there?"

John activated his watch. "Hey there Alan," he said quietly. "We're OK. We'll be with you soon and then we can all go home."

~#~

After a very quiet trip home, Scott and Alan headed back to the sickroom with John trailing slowly behind them, looking, for all intents and purposes like a man walking to his own execution. Scott passed across the threshold between the corridor and the sickroom and then found himself being pushed aside when John suddenly flew past him and hurled himself into Jeff's outstretched arms.

Jeff locked eyes with Scott as John clung to him. Scott nodded once and then spun around and wrapped an arm around Alan's waist before pulling him backwards from the room. Jeff heard a brief scuffle in the corridor and then the door slid shut and the room fell quiet again.

Mindful of Gordon who was still curled up beside him, Jeff wrapped his arms around John and hugged him tightly. "I'm not mad, Johnny," he whispered. "I know you feel guilty about giving the order to take Gordon down but it had to be done. If you hadn't then someone would more than likely have been seriously hurt and I more than likely wouldn't have been around any more. Brains has already expressed his concern regarding the way Gordon was hauling me about and I'm expecting to be sore in the morning."

John lifted his head and looked into Jeff's caring, smoke-grey eyes. "It…it wasn't good," he agreed. "I thought he'd killed you and then I thought I might have killed him and…and…"

"And you panicked," Jeff finished as he reached up and stroked the side of John's face. "Brains told us that you'd disappeared by the time they'd immobilised Gordon. He, Tin-Tin and Kyrano all tried to get hold of you to let you know we were…well, that we were OK, I guess. They were worried when they couldn't get hold of you and so were Scott and the others."

John nodded. "I know," he admitted. "…but I couldn't have stayed in the control room if I'd wanted to; I barely made it to the bathroom as it was."

"Ah," Jeff replied quietly. "I see. Well I suppose that's a pretty understandable reaction. I'm not sure I'd've been particularly happy about having to make the decision you were forced to make today, even if I'd known it was going to turn out for the best."

John snorted and slowly pulled himself out of Jeff's embrace before stepping around the bed to look at Gordon. "Does Brains have any sort of clue how long he'll be out for?" he asked softly, as he leant over and gently rested his hand on his brother's head. "I'd like to see for myself that he's really OK and that's a bit difficult when he's asleep."

Jeff smiled sadly. "I'm afraid you're going to have to wait a couple of days," he replied. "…because Brains is going to keep him out until Doctor Levenson can take a look at him. I thought it best that you saw him like this when you came back rather than how he'll be in an hour or so. Once you leave here, Brains is going to change him into something more practical and he's going to catheterise him at the same time. He's going to be forcing fluids into Gordon for the next few days to combat the drugs in his system and hopefully, by the time Doctor Levenson gets here, he'll be relatively clear of everything except for the sedatives and the nerve block which Brains is going to administer once he's certain it's safe to do so."

John nodded and gently petted the soft, silky hair beneath his hand. Gordon let out a gentle sigh but remained still.

Jeff chuckled. "Don't let Scott catch you doing that," he murmured. "Gordon didn't seem too happy with anyone but me touching him earlier and Scott was at a loss of what to do with his hands."

"Well he seems peaceful enough now," John said softly. "…which is a definite improvement on the last time I saw him. Are you absolutely certain about getting Doctor Levenson in without consulting Gordon first? It seems…I don't know, invasive somehow."

"Invasive?" Jeff repeated. "In what way? Gordon isn't currently able to make the decision for himself. Even if I was to order Brains to wake him up, he still wouldn't be in any fit state to be making life-altering decisions. Between the pain and the painkillers he would, quite simply, be unable to cope…as this morning proved only too well."

John nodded sadly but Jeff could see he was gritting his teeth in an attempt not to reply in a negative way. "But…" he said slowly. "He's in there somewhere. Sure, he's buried under a drugged stupor but he's…he's in there, Father."

Jeff reached out and rested a hand on John's arm. "I know he is, Johnny, but other than the fact that he's not teetering on the brink of death, the fact still remains the same as last time; that he's incapable. You know as well as I do that Gordon wouldn't want to live out his days in a chair, he's made his feelings on that completely clear over the years."

John's eyes became bright with unshed tears. "He'd rather die than be a burden on the rest of us," he murmured. "…but, Dad, he…he can't honestly think we'd accept that."

Jeff nodded. "He does," he whispered. "…and he's had legal documents drawn up to that effect. I know we've all spoken about our wishes, should the worst happen but Gordon's the only one who's actually done something about it. If he can't be brought back…" Jeff paused and swallowed deeply before continuing. "If he can't be brought back 'whole' then he doesn't want to be brought back at all. It means that if something goes wrong while Doctor Levenson's operating on Gordon in a couple of days' time then I'll be legally obligated to simply let him slip away. I can understand his reasoning but if it actually came to it…" Jeff broke off and pinched the bridge of his nose tightly between the thumb and forefinger of his right hand. "God damn it, Gordon."

The last word came out as a splutter as Jeff began to cough. Deep, painful-sounding coughs wracked the Tracy patriarch's frame and John hurried back round the bed and wrapped his arms around Jeff's shoulders.

"Dad, you've got to calm down," he said firmly and then turned and yelled for Brains who, having been alerted by his bank of screaming monitors, was already half way across the room.

"Mr…Mr Tracy," Brains spoke quietly as he leant down and adjusted the dial which would force more oxygen into Jeff's nasal cannula. "Mr Tracy, p-p-please. You have to t-t-try to calm down."

The combination of extra oxygen and Brains' and John's gentle coaxing took a while to percolate through Jeff's system but he eventually managed to stop himself coughing and leant tiredly against John's chest. "I think I need a lie down," he said quietly. "If you wouldn't mind, Johnny?"

John nodded and stepped backwards to allow Brains access to his father. Brains lowered the back of the bed until it was at a thirty degree angle and then covered Jeff up to his shoulders with a blanket. Jeff's eyes fell to half-mast and then closed completely for a couple of seconds before they flew open again when Jeff suddenly held a hand out towards John.

John stepped forwards and grabbed hold of the hand. "Father," he whispered. "Go to sleep."

Jeff looked up at him tiredly. "I will," he replied. "Just thought…someone needs to call Mother. Tell her not to come. Don't want her sick too." Jeff pulled his hand out of John's and tucked it under the blanket. He waited for John to nod his understanding and then closed his eyes.

John understood this as the dismissal is was meant to be. He leant over, kissed Jeff firmly on the forehead and then quietly left the room.


	6. Chapter 6

~#~ (Chapter 6)

John wandered back through the house and across the lounge to where Scott was standing behind Jeff's desk. The eldest Tracy son was picking crumpled papers from a pile on the chair, flattening them and then trying to put them into some semblance of order on the desk. He paused as John approached and waved his hand over the detritus covering the desktop. "This is hopeless," he said with a tight smile. "There's got to be eight or nine different contracts here but they're all…well…" He shrugged and pointed at the pile on the chair.

John nodded his understanding and stepped around the desk in order to help. As he did so, he caught sight of the view screens. His own, Scott's, Virgil's and Alan's all had their International Rescue shots showing but Gordon's had been replaced with his 'cover-up' picture. The carpet beneath Gordon's and to some extent Alan's picture was wet and scorched and as John looked he realised there was also a large wet patch of carpet near the door.

"He made a thorough job of it," Scott murmured quietly as he watched John survey the room. "I mean, I wouldn't expect Gordon to do things by halves but…" Scott shrugged and waved his hand again, this time encompassing the whole room.

"Do you know he's signed a DNR?" John said without looking back at Scott. "Dad's just told me. If something goes wrong while Doctor Levenson's here then Gordon's as good as dead. He...Dad got pretty upset when he was talking about it and then he started coughing and couldn't breathe properly. I wondered if Brains might have to end up sedating him like he had to do with Gordon but he got through it eventually and then fell asleep. Oh, he wants you to phone Grandma and tell her what's happening but you're not to let her come back here in case she gets sick."

Scott grimaced. "Great," he replied sarcastically. "I get all the fun jobs. Help me with these first, Grandma can wait another couple of minutes. Oh, and yes Johnny, I did know about Gordy's paperwork. Dad told me; ironically in case something happened to him immediately before something happened to Gordon. I don't know if Gordon knows that I know, so to speak, but I do and now you do. Don't mention it to the other two. Virg'd probably understand but Alan would do his nut."

John nodded. "Where are they, anyway?" he asked. "Alan didn't seem very happy with the way you took him out of the sickroom and I haven't seen hide nor hair of Virgil since I got back."

"Ah ha. There you are you little…" Scott lifted the final page of the contract he'd been rebuilding, high in the air and shook it triumphantly. He smoothed it down and placed it on top of one of the piles on the desk and then fixed the sheaf of papers together with a binder clip. "Alan stomped off," he said after a moment, replying to John as if he'd only just been asked the question. "…but Virg was here. He was sorting that out." Scott waved a hand vaguely in the direction of Gordon's portrait as he studied another piece of paper. "I know Brains said the paperweight was aimed at you but I'm sure Gordy's going to feel a mighty bit stupid when he discovers that he smashed his own screen."

John smiled sadly. "Assuming he makes it through the surgery, I think Gordon's going to be feeling a mighty bit stupid about a lot of things he's done in the past few days. I take it Brains is going to make him hand over all his meds to make sure nothing like this can happen again?"

Scott looked up and over towards John. "Already done," he said. "Virg strip-mined his room while Alan and I were out fetching you. Brains has no way of knowing exactly how much Gordon had taken nor of what but there was an open bottle of heavy-duty post-op morphine on his bed which we think he must have had not long before he lost the plot. It's that out of date that Gordon's probably lucky it didn't just kill him outright."

John shuddered and looked across at Gordon's portrait. "He must have been desperate," he whispered.

"And scared, confused and so out of it on everything else he'd taken that he probably didn't even realise what he was doing," Scott continued. "I know he's always been good at covering how he's feeling but I think we all knew he was struggling. We knew he was drugged…medicated…whatever but apart from Virgil's attempts at keeping his spirits up, none of us did a thing."

John shook his head. "I spoke to Father," John admitted. "…and I know Alan did as well. I think we're going to have to admit that we _all_ messed up on this one, Father included but I think that his being sick probably compounded the situation. He's another one who's not been entirely truthful as to how he's been feeling for these past few weeks. No matter what anyone says, there's no way he didn't know he was a lot sicker than he was letting on."

Scott smiled grimly. "You know I'm beginning to understand why Grandma gets so mad when we try to make out that we're fine when she knows we're not. And yes, before you remind me, I know I have to call her…and yes, I _am_ stalling. Are you done?"

John clipped the last pile of paper together and added it to the stack that Scott had made. Scott looked around for the tray they had originally been sitting in and found it beneath the desk. He put it back in its usual spot on the right hand side of the desktop and carefully placed the papers inside. "There," he said. "Some sort of normality in a crazy, crazy world."

John nodded. "Amen to that," he agreed. "Now if you don't need me for the next ten minutes or so, I'm going to get changed."

Scott looked John up and down and smirked when he realised that John was still clothed in the half-uniform that he'd been wearing when Scott had found him in the bathroom. Neither Scott nor Alan had bothered changing into their uniforms for the trip up to Five because they had been too pre-occupied by John's silence to worry about things like unnecessary changes of clothing. "I'll give you twenty," he offered. "Then you can take a shower as well. Once you're done you can come and rescue me from Grandma and then we'll gather the others together and sit down for dinner. Kyrano's getting something ready that he can take in to Brains and Father but the rest of us are going to sit at the table and we're going to eat. We're also going to thrash out some sort of plan of how things are going to run around here for the next couple of days."

~#~

One of the things that was unanimously agreed upon around the dinner table was that Gordon would never be left alone. It was something the family had started when Gordon had been in the coma following his hydrofoil crash and they had continued it over the following years after he had told them it had been a huge source of comfort while he had been trapped in an unresponsive body. Someone had stayed with Gordon each and every time he had been either sick or injured since then. Usually it was the job of one of his brothers, his father or grandmother but occasionally Tin-Tin, Kyrano or Brains would also take a turn at sitting with him.

The other thing that was agreed was that Scott needed to speak to Jeff about the running of both International Rescue and Tracy Industries. Everyone was in agreement that it would be far better for the whole family if Jeff let Scott control the rescues from the island for the foreseeable future and John volunteered to do most of the Tracy Industries work seeing as he 'rarely got sent out on rescues anyway'. This would allow Jeff some much-needed time to get back up to his usual healthy self after which he would be able to concentrate all his energies on Gordon's recovery without having to worry about alarms going off at all hours of the day and night.

Scott reluctantly promised to speak to Jeff at his earliest opportunity. "I've already been chewed out by Grandma today," he sighed. "I might as well go for the double."


	7. Chapter 7

~#~ (Chapter 7)

Scott didn't manage to catch up with Jeff that evening because his father woke for neither dinner nor supper and slept straight through to the next morning. The sleep did Jeff more good than he could have imagined and when he woke he told Brains that he felt far better than he'd done in nearly a week. Brains raised an eyebrow at this but wisely refrained from commenting as he raised the head of Jeff's bed before disconnecting him from the various monitors that had been watching over him during the night. Once he'd finished, Brains told Jeff that he had the results from the lab cultures he'd taken and explained that he'd be changing his medication for some that was more effective against the particular strain of pneumonia that had been causing Jeff's problems.

It was at that point that Jeff realised his bed had been separated from Gordon's. Mindful not to disturb either occupant, Brains had cut the ties joining the two beds together and had then pushed Jeff's bed over towards the window. He knew from bitter experience that he stood more chance of keeping any of the Tracys in the bed by the window rather than any other position and he had hoped that by putting Jeff there he might succeed in keeping him in bed until early afternoon.

Jeff seemed like he was going to prove Brains wrong when he sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed as soon as he was able. Brains objected when he pulled the cannula out of his nose but subsided when Jeff promised to put it straight back on after he'd visited the bathroom.

Jeff didn't strictly break his promise but it took him a long while to actually get back to his bed. After visiting the bathroom he made straight for the curtained area at the far end of the room where he guessed that Gordon had been hidden.

Gordon looked better than Jeff had thought he might. He had been changed into a pastel blue surgical gown and his arms were lying gently on top of a soft, woollen blanket that had been pulled up to the middle of his chest.

Jeff carefully perched on the bed beside the aquanaut and gently grasped Gordon's slack, non-IV'd, right hand between his own. "Don't you go giving up on me, Gordon Tracy," he whispered. "Not after everything we've been through to get this far. I gave you my word that I'd do what you asked of me and if it comes to it then I intend to keep that promise but I need you to play your part too. I need you to call on every bit of that red-headed stubbornness that your mother gave you and I…I need you to want to try and come back to us."

Brains walked silently up behind Jeff and placed a hand on one of his shoulders. "He's h-h-holding his own, M-Mr Tracy," he said quietly. "He's b-b-breathing on his ow-ow-own and gave me no-no-no cause for con-concern during the night." He pointed to the monitors on the wall behind Gordon. "A-a-all systems g-g-g-green."

Jeff looked at the monitors and was glad to see that every one of them was displaying a green light. "Thank you, Brains," he replied. "Thank you."

Brains nodded. "I-I-I'll give you five mi-mi-minutes," he said. "A-a-and then you're t-to go ba-ba-back to bed. T-t-t…T-t-Tin-Tin will b-b-be here mo-mo-momentarily."

The Tracy patriarch was well aware that Brains' stutter got profoundly worse when he was tired and it was particularly bad that morning which led Jeff to the conclusion that Brains probably hadn't even been to bed. "You've had no sleep at all, have you?" he asked quietly as he reached up and placed his hand over the one Brains had on his shoulder.

Brains, knowing full well why Jeff had asked the question, didn't even attempt to respond verbally and just shook his head before nodding towards the door of his office. Jeff patted his hand and then released it and watched as the young man wandered quietly away.

~#~

While Jeff had been talking to Brains, Scott had been rummaging through his father's cupboards so he could take the older man a change of clothes when he went to see him. Eventually he was happy that what he'd picked out was both smart, as was Jeff's preference, and comfortable in case Brains decided that his father had to remain in bed for any amount of time. He made his way to the sickroom and then hurriedly reversed back around the corner to watch as Tin-Tin stood up to Jeff.

"Mr Tracy," Scott heard her say. "You heard what Brains said; you were allowed five minutes with Gordon and then you had to go straight back to bed."

Scott couldn't make out Jeff's reply but it obviously wasn't what Tin-Tin wanted to hear because she replied with, "Every minute that you're over here is a minute that you're not wearing this." She waved a nasal cannula in Jeff's face. "And every minute you're not wearing it is a minute that your body isn't receiving the extra oxygen which it badly needs."

Jeff didn't move from his spot on Gordon's bed and Tin-Tin realised she was going to have to resort to dirtier tactics in order to force the issue. She backed up slightly and stood in front of Jeff with her hands on her hips. "Mr Tracy," she said forcefully. "Brains only wants you to stay on the oxygen for a few more hours. If he's happy with everything after lunch then he'll take you off it and you'll be free to spend the rest of the day with Gordon. If, however, you refuse the help that's on offer and you continue to misbehave then one of the two things will happen. 'One'," Tin-Tin held the index finger of her left hand directly in front of her face where Jeff couldn't possibly miss it. "…your stats won't come up and you'll feel worse and worse until Brains is forced to put you back in a bed or 'Two'," Tin-Tin added a second finger to the one she'd been holding up. "…you'll sit on Gordon's bed for a couple of hours and then you'll simply keel over. Either way you'll end up back in a bed and I think you need to take a long, hard think about how much use you'll be to Gordon when that happens. Now…Get. Into. Bed."

Jeff had the sense to lower his eyes and look contrite as he clambered off Gordon's bed and slowly slunk back across the room. He remained quiet while Tin-Tin fitted the cannula back into his nose and then, as she turned to leave, he reached out and grabbed her arm. "Tin-Tin," he said quietly. "Thank you."

Tin-Tin nodded and patted his hand. "We're all worried about Gordon," she murmured in a voice so low that Scott could barely hear her from where he was standing. "…but we're worried about you as well. This whole situation is hard enough already, Mr Tracy, please don't make it even harder."

Scott saw Jeff nod and swallow hard as Tin-Tin turned and walked back to where Gordon was lying. She straightened the covers where Jeff had been sitting and then pulled the chair out from beside the bed and sat down.

~#~

Scott remained in the corridor for several minutes and then sauntered in as if he'd just arrived. He waved down the room at Tin-Tin and then walked over to his father who was lying quietly on his bed. "Hello, Father," he said as he stopped beside Jeff's bed. "I came in to see you last night but you were already asleep. I thought you might appreciate a change of clothes seeing as you've been in those for the best part of twenty four hours."

Jeff looked down at the uncharacteristically crumpled shirt that was covering his chest. "I could certainly do with a little freshening up," he admitted with a chuckle. "Although I think I'll wait a while before I get up again. I've been over to visit Gordon this morning so I'd probably better keep this on for a bit." Jeff tapped the cannula with the tip of his finger. "Just in case."

Scott nodded and set the clothes down beside Jeff's feet. "Probably a good idea," he agreed. "Brains wouldn't still have you on it if you didn't need it." Scott looked up at the wall of monitors behind Jeff and smiled when he found they were all switched off. "If you need to stay in bed then that's fine but am I right in thinking you'd rather be sitting with Gordon?"

Jeff frowned. "Of course I would," he replied. "…but I can't until Brains decides I can dispense with this." He tapped the cannula again. "I'm hoping that will be either just before or just after lunch."

Scott smiled and walked around the bed to where the oxygen cylinder stood. He picked it up and lay in on the bed beside Jeff. "Don't let that go anywhere," he ordered and then stepped back behind the bed and kicked the brake to release it. "Staying in bed doesn't necessarily mean you have to stay here," he said quietly. "You didn't start off over here and I'm saying that you're not going to finish up here either, now hang on to that tank."

With a quiet squeak that reverberated around the almost-silent room, the bed started to move. Slowly, so as not to jostle Jeff too much, Scott manoeuvred it across the room and positioned it as close to Gordon's bed as he could without them touching. He flicked his hand at Jeff to make him let go of the oxygen cylinder and then picked it up and put it back on the floor beneath his father's head. "There," he said with a grin. "That's the best of both worlds; you're in bed, you're on oxygen and you're probably as close to Gordy as you could get without climbing in with him."

Jeff looked over to Tin-Tin who was watching them with wide eyes. She turned to Scott and shrugged. "Why didn't I think of that?" she asked. "Do you realise you just solved all of this morning's quandaries within two minutes of coming through the door?"

Scott's eyes twinkled. "That's why they've put me in charge," he said and then grinned when Jeff frowned across at him. "Would you mind leaving us alone for a while, Tin-Tin? Father and I have some things to discuss."

~#~

Scott was surprised by Jeff's reaction to the news that he'd been unanimously voted out of running both of his businesses. He had been worried that Jeff would get either angry or upset but his father burst out laughing when Scott told him.

"It didn't take long to write me off, did it?" he chuckled. "I'm down for less time than I've been wearing these damn clothes and already I'm out of a job."

Scott's brow crinkled in confusion. "You're laughing," he said worriedly. "After the balling out I got from Grandma yesterday, I was expecting to at least have my backside kicked for even hinting that you might want to take it easy for a while; I certainly wasn't expecting laughter."

"I'm sorry, son, it's just…" Jeff paused and searched for the right words to explain how he was feeling. He looked from Scott, to Gordon and then back to Scott and shrugged.

Scott watched as a myriad of expressions crossed Jeff's face. "You were expecting this?" he said incredulously. "You knew that we wouldn't sit back and let you try and act like nothing's happened and you were expecting us to take over."

"You, Scott," Jeff confirmed with a gentle nod of his head. "I was expecting _you_ to take over. John may have offered to do the bulk of the TI work but even he'll defer to you over the day to day running of, well, everything. You've been big brother, field commander and surrogate father to the other four and taking orders or advice from you is like second nature to each and every one of them." Scott wasn't sure how to answer so remained quiet which allowed Jeff to continue. "Now, what's this about your grandmother? I knew she wouldn't be happy about having to stay put but I'd at least have expected her to remain civil about it."

This drew a snort from Scott. "Barely," he said quietly. "She threatened to put herself on the first flight she could get to Auckland so that we'd have to go and fetch her rather than leave a 'frail, old lady' stranded at a foreign airport with nowhere to stay."

Jeff shook his head. "Ha," he replied. "I wouldn't put it past her to try it. So how did you respond?"

Scott lowered his head and mumbled quietly.

Jeff smirked. "Try that one again," he suggested and he reached over and lifted Scott's face back up so he could look him in the eye. "I'm not sitting down there on the floor so I didn't hear you."

"I…um…I told her that if she tried it I'd have to send Virgil to get her," Scott answered eventually. "She seemed happy with that until I told her that if I did have to send Virgil out then he'd be going with orders to take her back to Kansas and that he'd be bringing her passport back here with him so that she couldn't try it again. I…um…don't think I'm her favourite person at the moment."

Jeff burst out laughing again. "No," he replied. "I don't suppose you are and I'd imagine that she's none too pleased with me either. We may be eating humble pie for a couple of weeks but she'll forget all about us once she gets back here and has Gordon to look after."

Scott nodded. "Poor Gordy," he whispered and he looked over at his unconscious brother. "He's going to be smothered."

~#~

Brains took Jeff off the oxygen after lunch and allowed the Tracy patriarch to get out of bed and move around on the condition that he didn't overdo it. Unsurprisingly Jeff didn't even try to leave the sickroom but simply gravitated from his bed into the chair beside Gordon and then at the end of the evening, despite being released, he climbed back into the bed beside Gordon's and went to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

~#~ (Chapter 8)

Doctor Andre Levenson arrived at 10.15 the next morning. He travelled to the island alone, much to everyone's relief and landed his tiny red plane neatly at the end of the runway, directly in front of Thunderbird 2's hidden silo.

The tall, blonde doctor climbed out of the plane and walked towards Jeff, Scott and Virgil who were waiting for him between two of the retractable palm trees. He stopped uncertainly in front of them and looked between Scott and Virgil as they unconsciously flanked their father in a protective manner. The doctor remembered how defensive the Tracys brothers had been of one another and he realised that this would have undoubtedly have been compounded by the fact that their father had been so sick.

Doctor Levenson nodded to Scott and Virgil and then stepped between them held out his hand. "Jefferson," he said warmly. "It's good to see you back on your feet. You're looking far better than you did when you called, although I have to say that you're still a little on the pale side."

Jeff leant forwards and shook the doctor's hand. "I'd like to be able to tell you that I was one hundred percent back to normal but I'm afraid I would be lying to you. I am, however, a great deal better than I was a couple of days ago and Brains says that the medication is working well."

"Good. That's good," the doctor replied. "I have brought some equipment with me but I'll leave it on the plane, if you don't mind, until I see Gordon and confirm that I can do something for him in the room that you described."

Jeff nodded and motioned towards the house with a wave of his arm. "Certainly," he replied. "Although I think you'll find that our sickroom is just as well kitted out as most hospitals. That may sound a little extravagant but I assure you that room's paid for itself many times over, during the years we've been living here."

The doctor paused and waited as Scott moved past him and lead the way into the house. Jeff followed Doctor Levenson and Virgil automatically fell in behind him and brought up the rear.

~#~

Scott strode through the door of the sickroom and then stepped to one side to allow the doctor and his father through. Virgil slid silently into the spot beside Scott and the pair watched as Doctor Levenson crossed the room and got his first glimpse of his patient.

No-one missed the softening of the doctor's eyes as he gently picked up and patted the sedated aquanaut's hand. He moved his right hand to Gordon's forehead and his left onto Gordon's wrist and stood there for a moment while he counted the steady beats against his fingers.

After a short while the doctor removed his hand from Gordon's head and gently laid the aquanaut's hand back by his side. He briefly examined the bank of monitors on the wall and then turned to Jeff, smiling softly. "Your Mr Brains has done an excellent job of stabilising him," he commented. "His pulse, temperature and respiration are all good and according to the monitors his O2 levels are too. I'd be interested to see the results of the blood tests that have been carried out over the past few days but all in all I'd say Gordon looks, on the outside at least, a fair bit healthier than I was expecting."

Alan, who was sat cross-legged on Jeff's bed, held out his hand to the doctor who automatically took it. "Do you think you're going to be able to fix him, sir?" he asked quietly.

Doctor Levenson gave Alan's hand a comforting squeeze. "I hope so, Alan. I really do. The scans that Mr Brains sent over certainly give me hope that we can put your brother back together again although I am dismayed to discover that something like this could happen." The doctor paused and looked across at Jeff. "Gordon has always been my most precious patient and the day he walked out of hospital was probably one of the happiest and proudest moments of my life. For it all to come crashing down like it has…" Doctor Levenson hung his head and fell quiet as he let go of Alan's hand.

"Gordon believes in you, Doctor Levenson." John's statement had been quietly spoken but it startled the doctor because he hadn't noticed John sitting in the chair beside Gordon. "…and even though he doesn't know you're coming, I know he'd approve."

The doctor nodded. "Thank you, John. I appreciate that, I just hope that I can do what I'm here to do. Jefferson, I believe you said you have a sterile operating area? Would you mind if I take a look? And also if I could have a word with Mr Brains."

Alan snorted. "You don't need to call him Mr Brains, you know? He's just 'Brains'. He told us that he was called it so often in college that it stuck and well…it does kinda suit him."

"Alan, behave yourself." Jeff's words were quiet and cautionary but Alan could see a twinkle of amusement in his father's eye as he spoke. "…and go and find Brains for me. He's probably lost track of the time and doesn't realise that Andre has arrived."

Alan nodded and hopped off the bed. "You're staying there, aren't you, John?" he asked and received a nod in return.

"Sure," John replied quietly. "We need to read the last chapter, don't we Gordy?" John raised his voice ever so slightly even though he wasn't expecting any reply from his red-headed brother. "…and then we can find out how it all turns out in the end."

"You're reading to Gordon?" Doctor Levenson asked. "You do realise he can't hear you while he's sedated? Being sedated isn't the same as being in a coma; it's not the same at all."

Jeff walked up and rested a hand on Doctor Levenson's shoulder. "They know that, Andre. The boys pull together and keep each other company if ever any of them is sick or injured but whenever it's Gordon that's in here the one or two floating brothers tends to become an almost constant four. What is it that you're reading, John?"

John rather sheepishly held up the book and Alan dissolved into a fit of laughter. "Treasure Island?" he gasped. "…and you want to find out how it turns out? As if you didn't know already. You must have read it thirty times!"

John shrugged. "It's a good book," he said defensively. "And it's Gordon's favourite so butt out."

"Boys, please." Jeff let out an exasperated sigh. "Alan, go and find Brains. John, if you want to read to Gordon then you go ahead. Scott, Virgil, I'm going to show Andre around a little more, you're free to follow us if you wish."

Scott and Virgil looked at one another and then, in an almost synchronised move, they pushed off from the wall and walked over to where Jeff and the doctor were waiting.

~#~

Doctor Levenson was surprised by the amount of equipment in the sterile area. He looked around with a soft smile on his face and nodded approvingly.

"Jefferson," he said quietly. "I admit I was a little sceptical when you explained how good your sickroom and facilities were here. Just the suggestion that I would want to carry out surgery on Gordon outside of my own operating theatre gave me chills but I see now that I needn't have worried. Now that I'm here and I've looked round I can understand why you've had to setup as well as you have. I mean, I knew you were isolated on your own island but I didn't realise just how isolated until I investigated how long it would take to get a medivac chopper here if I needed one. Let's just say that I approve of your setup, I understand and yes, I am more than willing to use your equipment to try and put Gordon back together again."

~#~

Jeff closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. "Thank you," he whispered and then jumped slightly as Scott stepped forwards and threw an arm around his shoulders before holding his hand out to the doctor.

"That's great news," Scott said as he shook Doctor Levenson's hand. "Now, we just need Brains to come and speak to you and we're all set. Virg, could you go and find Alan? He's either got distracted and forgotten he was supposed to be fetching Brains or he can't find him. Chase him up, would you?"

Virgil nodded and sped out of the room. Scott suspected that he'd head straight for Jeff's office to establish where everyone was by the locator beacons in their watches. Once he'd done that it would only be a matter of minutes before Virgil had Brains and Alan where they needed to be. "Shall we go and keep John company while we're waiting?" he suggested. "He's probably finished his book by now and I know for a fact that there isn't any other John-type reading material in the sickroom."

Jeff snorted. "No, I can't imagine there is," he agreed. "If he wants to sit with Gordon for a little longer then someone can always run and fetch him another book, or maybe cover for him for a while so he can go and pick something for himself."


	9. Chapter 9

~#~ (Chapter 9)

Jeff, Scott and Doctor Levenson barely had a chance to speak to John before Alan burst into the room, followed by a flustered-looking Brains and an exasperated-looking Virgil. "Sorry," he said as he tried to catch his breath. "I looked everywhere logical but I couldn't find him so I thought I'd look outside and then I fell down the steps by the pool. I scraped up my leg and twisted my ankle and Tin-Tin saw and she came to look after me and before I knew it Virgil was yelling at me."

Alan was speaking so fast and unclearly that Doctor Levenson could barely follow what he was saying and looked to Jeff for a translation.

"Apparently Scott was right with both his guesses," Jeff told the doctor with a chuckle. "Alan couldn't find Brains and then he got distracted by Tin-Tin trying to patch him up after he fell down the poolside steps."

Doctor Levenson nodded knowingly. "Ah," he replied. "I see. No harm done, apart from your leg, I suppose. Do you need me to take a look?"

Alan shook his head. "No, sir. Tin-Tin sorted it. I thought she was coming with us but…ah, Tin, you're an angel."

Alan stepped around Brains and took the tray of coffee out of Tin-Tin's hands before putting it down on one of the rolling over-bed tables. Kyrano, who was following his daughter, carried another tray holding glasses and a large jug of orange-coloured juice and he added this to the table next to the coffee.

"I thought refreshments would be in order," he said quietly as he backed away from the table. "I am unsure of Doctor Levenson's preferences so if he would prefer a different beverage then he only needs to ask."

The doctor looked across at Jeff and gently shook his head before stepping forwards slightly so he could address Kyrano. "The offer is most gracious of you, Kyrano but I am not here to be a burden to anybody and would be more than happy to sample some of your near-legendary coffee. Gordon has always spoken highly of the flavour-enhancing herbs that you add to it."

Kyrano gave a shy smile. "Master Gordon is most kind," he replied quietly. "…and it is true that he is very fond of his coffee. May I ask whether a decision has been made over his impending surgery? My daughter and I have spoken and would like to offer our assistance in any way that it may be required."

Jeff stepped forwards and placed a hand on Kyrano's robe-covered arm. "Kyrano, my old friend, you and Tin-Tin do so much for us already. You're the constant, unwavering foundation that keeps us all grounded through adversity and without you and Mother the rest of us would probably never manage to eat sensible, healthy meals at anything like regular intervals. I would ask that you continue, in your usual inimitable way, to remind myself and the boys to look after ourselves while we take turns in looking after Gordon."

Tin-Tin sidled up to her father and wrapped her arms around him. Kyrano automatically hugged her back as he looked bashfully down at the floor. "I shall endeavour to do that, Mr Tracy," he replied quietly. "…and my Tin-Tin will continue to help you in caring for Master Gordon."

Jeff nodded. "Of course," he agreed and then turned and addressed the doctor. "Brains, Tin-Tin and Virgil will be at your disposal while you're here. The three of them are medically trained, as is Scott, should you need another body."

Alan opened his mouth to point out that he was as equally trained as his brothers but he ended up making a strangled squeak when John reached up and pulled him down onto the chair beside him. "Shut it," John hissed warningly. "…and stay there."

Alan clamped his mouth shut and wriggled around until he was more comfortably wedged into the chair beside John. Scott watched the interaction between his two blonde brothers with an amused expression on his face and then turned to Doctor Levenson. "So, what's the plan of action?" he asked. "Obviously you won't be operating today but are there pre-op tests or something that you can run to get things started?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes," he replied. "I think that myself and Mr…um…myself and Brains will spend a large part of this afternoon making sure that Gordon is stable enough to go through the operation. I would also like to put him through the scanner again just to be absolutely certain of what we're going to find when we open him up. Can I enquire as to whether the three, or four of you, will be alright sitting in on the operation? Is it something that you've experienced first-hand before?"

Virgil looked around at Brains and Tin-Tin who both nodded. "We'll be fine," he replied. "Scott?" He looked at his eldest brother who frowned.

"I'll stand in, if needed," Scott said slowly. "…but the other three have more experience with that sort of thing than myself. I mean, I won't pass out or anything but I think…I think I'd rather stay outside unless you actually need me."

Virgil held out a hand which Scott took and squeezed gently. Everyone, with the exception of Doctor Levenson, knew how much it would have taken for Scott to admit that he wasn't one hundred percent happy with helping out with the actual operation. They also knew that Virgil, Alan and Gordon had far more recent experience than Scott with the blood and gore side of their many rescues. Scott generally set Mobile Control up in a clean and relatively sanitary area near to the rescue site and worked and directed the rescues from there. Apart from occasionally getting covered in mud, smoke or splattered with oil, Scott usually avoided getting particularly dirty but on the couple of times he'd returned to the island covered in blood it had been Tracy blood he'd been covered with.

Jeff looked across the room and noted that John had one of his arms across his youngest brother's shoulders. Alan looked slightly green and Jeff wondered if he hadn't truly grasped what was going to happen until that moment.

Doctor Levenson picked up on the tension that had suddenly filled the room even though he didn't really understand what had caused it. "That will be fine, Scott," he said softly. "I think that Virgil can probably supply all the muscle we need but it will be reassuring to know you're on standby should we have need of you."

Scott nodded and let go of Virgil's hand so he could step up to the table to grab one of the coffees. He took a swig and then shuddered and reached for the sugar bowl. He dumped a couple of teaspoons of sugar into the cup and mixed it up before taking another sip which he followed with an appreciative sigh.

The tension in the room dissolved almost as soon as Scott sighed. Virgil stepped up beside him and poured cream and sugar into another of the cups and then leant over and handed it to John. John nodded his thanks and then reached out again when Virgil held out one of the glasses of juice for Alan.

Jeff watched Virgil handing out the drinks and then smiled gently when he realised that neither John nor Alan was going to have an easy time in extracting themselves from the chair. Virgil had obviously spotted their predicament, hence the serving of the drinks but neither he nor Scott seemed inclined to help their blonde brothers get up again. Jeff shook his head and then smiled again when he suddenly realised that Kyrano had pressed a steaming cup of coffee into his hand. "Thank you," he murmured. "You know, I'm beginning to believe that we might just get through this pretty much unscathed."

Kyrano nodded thoughtfully from his spot beside Jeff. "That is good, Mr Tracy," he replied quietly. "Master Gordon is strong in both mind and body and has overcome this problem once before in his lifetime. I am certain that with his loving family around to help him, he will triumph over it once again."

With that Kyrano slipped silently from the room, leaving Jeff to mull over his words. As he sipped his coffee, Jeff took the time to study the faces of his five children. Each one so different in their own way but in many ways the same. His two blonde sons sat quietly together on the chair they were both squashed into, his dark-haired boys sat with their coffees, side by side on what had been Jeff's bed and his odd-ball, the red-headed Gordon lay recumbent on the bed between them all.

'Yes' thought Jeff. 'We'll get through this and we'll get through it together.'


	10. Chapter 10

~#~ (Chapter 10)

During the afternoon, Doctor Levenson, Brains and Virgil subjected Gordon to a barrage of non-invasive tests and by the time the evening meal came around they were confident that he was strong enough to be operated upon.

~#~

After dinner, Brains printed a life-sized picture of the scan of Gordon's back and pinned it on the wall above the aquanaut's bed. Alan had a queasy moment when he walked in and saw it but eventually smiled when he worked out why Brains had put it there. "You're going to put the 'after' shot beside it, once he's fixed," he murmured. "So that Gordy can see what's been done to him. That's the idea, isn't it?"

Brains stepped up beside the youngest Tracy and nodded. "That was my intention, y-yes. I-i-if Doctor Levenson manages to make things as-as-as tidy as last time then the a-a-after shot should look pretty…ah…impressive."

Alan nodded. "Well hopefully it'll work better than last time…or at the very least it needs to last longer or be…um…stronger or else Gords is going to be living in fear of the common cold. If this happens simply from coughing then…well…" Alan shrugged and Brains reached up to pat him on the shoulder.

"There's nothing s-s-simple about this at all, A-Alan," the bespectacled genius replied. "Doctor Levenson estimates tha-that the…ah…operation will take in excess of eight hours to complete."

Alan blanched. "Eight hours?"

"Y-yes." Brains nodded. "He's aiming to begin shortly after b-breakfast tomorrow a-a-and will hopefully be finished in time for a l-l-late dinner."

Alan wrapped his arms around himself. "Gee, that's…that's like _all_ day. What if we get a call out?"

"Then Two will answer the call; piloted by John with you as his second and Scott as his third if he really needs one." Alan jumped at his father's quiet words, having been unaware that Jeff had stepped into the room behind him. "It's an odd combination of vehicles and pilots but needs must, as they say…"

Alan nodded. "And you'll explain to Doctor Levenson about International Rescue?"

"Yes," Jeff agreed. "I've already said that I'll tell him if necessary and I'll stand by that. Only if it becomes necessary though; remember that the sickroom and operating theatre are both soundproofed. One or Two should, theoretically, be able to leave without anyone noticing but Three's a different matter entirely. It's all explainable though, Alan; so don't worry."

Alan shrugged. "Where's the doctor now?" he asked. "I would have thought there were preparations or something that he'd need to do in here to make sure that Gordon's completely ready for tomorrow."

Jeff smiled at his youngest son and hooked an arm across his shoulders. "Andre's doing exactly what he should be doing at the moment, Alan. He's sleeping. We can pay for the best, most up to date equipment in the world but if the human element, in this case Doctor Levenson, isn't on form then Gordon won't stand a chance. A piece of equipment can be replaced, a well-honed, well-trained human mind cannot. Andre's experience is vital and something that cannot and should not EVER be discounted."

Alan wriggled slightly until he could wrap his arm around Jeff without dislodging the arm from around his shoulders. "I understand," he murmured. "It's just…I was expecting to find at least one of the others in here. Gordon doesn't have anyone with him."

Jeff nodded in the direction of the chair beside the bed. "He had Kyrano with him while we were eating and Brains was with him when you walked in. In fact, if you care to look in the office, I think you'll find that Brains is _still_ with him, albeit slightly removed. What say you and I gang up and send him to bed then we can have Gordon to ourselves for a while? I was intending to spend the night in here but you're more than welcome to keep me company until bedtime."

~#~

There was a nervous tension in the villa the next morning. Everyone rose early, ate breakfast and then gathered in the sickroom. Only Jeff, Scott, John and Doctor Levenson knew about Gordon's DNR order but the others were all fully aware of the risks involved in such a long and complicated surgery and despite Gordon being still fully sedated, they all wanted to wish him luck and to send him into the operation with their love.

John and Virgil between them jury-rigged a screen so that Ruth could 'have a chat' with Gordon. The old woman grumbled loudly about not being able to take care of him in person and made everyone promise to keep her informed of his progress throughout the day. They agreed and kept Ruth in the sickroom 'with them' until Brains and Andre Levenson walked in from the office and announced that the time had come to prepare Gordon prior to moving him into the operating theatre.

~#~

Brains, Doctor Levenson, Tin-Tin and Virgil all went through the usual sterilisation procedures as Scott took control of Alan and ushered him from the room. John followed the pair for a short while but then diverted away and headed into his room. Jeff stayed with Gordon until the last possible moment and placed a gentle but slightly shaky kiss on his forehead. "Behave yourself in there, Little Fish. I need you to fight with everything you have and I need you to believe that this is going to work. You're going to walk again, Gords; just please, keep believing that. You ARE going to walk."

Tin-Tin peeked through the door and looked knowingly at her father who was standing a respectful distance behind Jeff. Kyrano stepped forwards and rested a hand on his long-time friend's shoulder. "They are ready to take Master Gordon now, Mr Tracy." He spoke softly in the usual soft tone that tended to be reserved particularly for Jeff and Tin-Tin. "Please, come with me."

Jeff hesitated and a single tear rolled down his face as his hand hovered beside Gordon's head. He stroked his son's soft, warm cheek, kissed him again and then turned and left the room without uttering a word. Kyrano nodded briefly to his daughter and hurried after Jeff.

~#~

The short pause to acknowledge Tin-Tin proved to be Kyrano's undoing and by the time he stepped into the corridor he realised that he had no clue where Jeff had gone. He checked the office, found it empty and then followed his nose through into the kitchen where he found Scott making coffee for himself and Alan.

Both boys looked up as he entered. "Hi, Kyrano," Scott said softly. "Has Gordon gone in?"

Kyrano nodded. "Tin-Tin was preparing to move him as Mr Tracy and myself were leaving," he replied. "…but Master Scott, I fear that your father was more nimble than myself and as such he has evaded me. I called at his office but he was not there. I then hoped that yourself and Master Alan were he but alas I was wrong."

Scott frowned. "Did you check he hadn't doubled back on himself and gone straight back to the sickroom?"

Kyrano shook his head. "I would have passed him if he had attempted that. I was only moments behind him but the elevator doors closed before I had the chance to catch up and enter. I used the passageways to return to the main body of the house and fully expected to find that Mr Tracy had taken refuge in his office."

"But he was nowhere to be seen when you got there?" Scott clarified. "Kyrano, I'll do you a swap. You take this one…" He nodded at Alan who looked silently between his brother and Kyrano with a suspicious look on his face. "…and leave Dad to me. I reckon I know where he is…or at least where he went because he may have moved by the time I get there. Al, stay with Kyrano and do what he tells you, OK?"

Alan raised an eyebrow at this but settled on a shrug rather than a grumbled reply. Scott patted him on the back and nodded approvingly. "I don't intend to be long. I need to get onto door duty soon or else I'm not going to be there if they need me to help with Gordon. I've got my watch, shout me if you need me."


	11. Chapter 11

~#~ (Chapter 11)

Scott wandered through the house and took the stairs down to the basement. As he had guessed, Jeff had gone to ground down there among the boxes and packing crates that held many of the Tracy family's earliest memories.

"Hey," Scott whispered as he walked in and noticed Jeff hovering silently at the far end of the room. The Tracy patriarch was standing with his head bowed and his face pointing away from the door. "You OK down here? Kyrano was worried when he lost track of you."

Jeff smiled sadly. "I didn't mean to lose him. I just…I didn't want to be there when they took Gordon away. I probably should have left when you and Alan did but…" Jeff's words petered out and he shrugged.

"But you wanted a few minutes more with him, just in case." Scott walked up behind his father and wrapped his arms around him. He rested his chin on Jeff's shoulder and peered down to discover that Jeff was leafing through a photo album containing pictures from Gordon's long months of recovery after his accident. "You shouldn't be looking at these," he whispered. "You'll just upset yourself; and with the week or so that you've had…"

Jeff chuckled and leaned back against his son. "I'm fine," he murmured. "You don't need to start worrying about me again. Gordon needs all the support he can get so turn your attentions his way."

Scott squeezed him gently. "No," he replied succinctly. "You were told not to overdo it or you'd make yourself sick again and I'm not one hundred percent certain about you being down here, to be honest. I know it's clean but it's not as clean as the rest of the house, at least in a dust-free sense. I'll take the box upstairs for you if you want then you can rummage through it to your heart's content and I won't need to worry about you re-clogging your on-their-way-to-being-unclogged lungs again."

"That's a very technical way of putting it," Jeff chuckled. "I'm glad to know that all your years of training haven't gone to waste."

Scott snorted. "You knew what I meant. Now, do you want me to take the box upstairs for you or not?"

Jeff let out an amused chuff of breath and closed the album that he had been looking through. He placed it back into the box and carefully clipped the plastic, air-tight lid closed. "I'll take that one and also the one beneath it and I'll have them in my room, if you'll allow that?"

Scott let go of Jeff and leaned around him to pick up the boxes. "I think that'd be permitted," he grinned. "…but you're not going to be allowed to sit in there and stew with them. If I don't see you back in the house within a couple of hours then I'm going to come and drag you outside. Got it?"

Jeff looked at his eldest son and sighed. "Not all that long ago I'd have said 'you and who's army' but seeing as four out of the five of you are taller than myself now I suppose I'll have to change that to a simple 'OK, I'll behave'."

Scott nodded and then adjusted his grip on the boxes so he could reach out and ruffle his father's hair. "Good boy." He grinned again and then hurried away across the basement before Jeff had the chance to react.

Jeff stood for a moment and smiled at Scott's hasty retreat. It was rare for the serious-minded eldest Tracy boy to be so open and jovial around his father and the exchange had done a lot to lift Jeff's spirits. He shook his head, set off across the room and as he had half-expected, found Scott waiting for him by the elevator.

The pair headed up into the house in a companionable silence. Scott deposited the boxes on the floor at the end of Jeff's bed and left him in peace.

~#~

Scott found himself wandering through the house again and eventually ended up back at the kitchen. The door was open and he could make out the quiet conversation going on inside between John and Alan. He stepped into the room, noticed the two blondes sitting side by side at the table and slung an arm around each of their shoulders. "I thought you'd gone to your room, Johnny. You OK?"

"Yeah," John replied. "It's going to sound weird coming from me but it was too quiet. All I could do was think about what was going on and it wasn't doing me any good so I thought I'd go to the office and bury myself in paperwork. I got kind of diverted on the way and well, here I am."

"John's been telling me how he doesn't think Gordon's recovery should take anywhere near as long as last time," Alan said softly. "What do you reckon?"

Scott pursed his lips and thought for a moment. He then pushed himself upright and moved to sit on the chair beside Alan's. "I suppose there's something to be said for the fact that Gords shouldn't have to learn how to walk this time. His body is used to getting the extra help from Doctor Levenson's synthetic elements and even though they won't be _exactly_ how he's been used to, they'll still be basically the same as they were before all this started." Alan nodded but remained silent to allow Scott to continue. "You've also got to remember that the filaments are the…I don't really want to say 'the only thing' because that's degrading their importance but the filaments _are_ the only thing wrong with Gordon this time. He hasn't got to cope with the broken arm, wrist, collar bone and multiple rib fractures this time and he doesn't have to deal with the concussion, the bruised kidney or the liver laceration. He's got all of us here to help him, full time, barring rescues so he won't have to struggle among strangers who don't 'get' him. I know that means he's not among experts but he _is_ among family and that means a lot. Simply put, Al, Gordon's a damn sight better off than he was the first time he went through this."

Alan sighed softly and nodded. "It's still scary though. If the doctor does even the tiniest thing wrong then Gordon will end up crippled and that just doesn't bare thinking about."

John glanced at Scott who gently shook his head; the blonde then leaned over and gently elbowed Alan in the ribs. "Doctor Levenson's the best at what he does, Al. He's fixed Gordon before and you need to have faith that he'll do it again. If you don't then you're going to worry yourself sick and we've had way too much sickness around here recently. Do you understand?"

"I guess." Alan nodded again. "Talking about sick, did you find Dad, Scott?"

Scott chuckled. "Yes, I found him. He's a little melancholy but he's basically OK. He'd be mortified if he knew that you immediately think of him when someone mentions 'sick' though."

Alan flushed slightly and looked down at the table. Scott smiled and reached out to ruffle his little brother's hair. "Just don't let him hear you, that's all I'm saying. We're all thinking it; we're just not saying it. Alright?"

Alan nodded. "Alright, Scott. What are the three of us going to do while we're waiting though? We can't just sit around here, waiting for news."

"Not unless you want the day to pass incredibly slowly, no," Scott replied with a roll of his eyes. "I need to get down to the sickroom in case I'm needed and Johnny needs to get some paperwork done in the office. You can come with either of us or neither of us; it's your choice, Al. My only condition is that someone either comes and takes over from me in…" He paused and looked at his watch. "…about an hour and a half or one of you goes and retrieves Dad at that time. I told him he was allowed a maximum of two hours to stew in his room and then he was coming out whether he liked it or not. I may have added some stipulation that he was going outside after that time but I might let him off that if he behaves."

Alan raised his head and looked Scott in the eye. "I don't mind going to fetch him. At least it'll be something useful I can do." He turned to his other brother. "Can I sit with you until then? I promise I won't bug you or put you off or anything."

John nodded and then gave Alan a gentle smile. "I'll find you something you can help with. It'll make the time…and the paperwork, go faster. We'll see what Dad's like after you've retrieved him and we'll play the rest of the day by ear. None of us is going to relax properly until we know that Doctor Levenson has finished and that he's been successful."

"That's settled then," Scott announced as he stood up. "I'll be in the sickroom if anyone needs me. Either come and find me or use my watch."


	12. Chapter 12

~#~ (Chapter 12)

Alan helped John with the Tracy Industries paperwork for an hour and twenty minutes and then ambled away to find Jeff. He knocked on the Tracy patriarch's door and slid it open when he heard Jeff call to him from inside. "Hi, Dad," he said softly. "You OK in here?"

Jeff, who was sitting on his bed surrounded by photograph albums, held out his hand and beckoned Alan to sit down beside him. "I'm surprised that Scott's sent you to do his dirty work for him," he chuckled. "I would have thought he'd have come to throw me out of my own room himself."

Alan sat down and snuggled against his father. "He's on Gordy watch," he murmured. "…so I offered to come. What are you doing with all of these?"

Jeff wrapped an arm around him. "Just looking," he replied vaguely. "…and reminiscing, hoping, praying…" He shrugged and picked up a particular album. "Here."

Alan leafed backwards through the album and smiled sadly. "He'll be OK, Dad. Doctor Levenson's fixed him before and he'll fix him again this time. He'll be as good as new in a few months' time. You'll see."

Jeff rested his head on Alan's shoulder for a moment and chuckled quietly. "Which of your brothers has been reassuring you?" he asked. "Because that speech sure as hell didn't come from you. Scott or Johnny?"

Alan picked an invisible bit of fluff off his pants and blushed. "Both," he replied softly. "I guess I was a bit uneasy about what was happening earlier today but they put my mind to rest. Scott says that Gordy's in a way better state than he was last time 'cos he doesn't have all the broken bones and everything else wrong with him. He also said that Gordon already knows how to walk with the extra bits in his back but that he might need a bit of practice to get used to them if they're adjusted differently or...something."

Jeff nodded. "That makes sense. I suppose that Andre might not manage to get absolutely everything back in exactly the same place as before but as far as I'm aware he's attempting to fix everything back in a correct, workable configuration. How…or even _if_ he's going to ensure this doesn't happen again, I don't know though."

Alan didn't know how to answer that so leaned forward and grabbed another album.

The pair remained side by side on the bed, talking about the photographs, then about any other subject that came to mind and generally just kept each other company until John finally came searching for them.

The eldest of the two blonde Tracys pressed his ear against the door and rolled his eyes when he realised that Alan had, once again, got completely diverted from what he'd been sent to do. He quietly slid the door open, stepped across Jeff's sitting room and propped himself against the doorframe in the bedroom.

It took several long moments before the others noticed him and when they did it was Jeff, rather than Alan, who looked up. John smiled, shook his head and tapped his watch. "You two are going to be in so much trouble if Scott finds out about this," he chuckled and then nodded back in the direction of the house. "Kyrano's got lunch ready and I'm going to see if Scott wants to swap places for a while. It's been very quiet down there so he might appreciate a break."

~#~

John found Scott sitting on the sickroom floor beside the door to the operating room. He had his back flat against the wall with his knees raised in front of him and was poking at the screen of a small tablet computer.

John sat down beside him, peered at the screen and snorted. "Attack of the demonic zombie killers? Very therapeutic, I'm sure."

Scott paused the game and lowered the tablet before turning his head towards his brother. "Don't knock it, 'til you've tried it," he replied. "…and anyway, I had to get Alan back off the top of the scoreboard 'cos he was getting too cocky for his own good. He tried to insinuate that I was 'losing my touch' and getting 'too old to compete with the younger, fitter generation' but that…" Scott lifted the tablet, pressed a button and held it out for John could see. "…will teach him to cheek me."

"I guess it will," John agreed with a smile. "You know you've thrown down the gauntlet now though, don't you? He won't rest 'til he's back on top."

Scott gave an evil grin. "I know," he replied. "I also know that Gordy's going to need something to occupy him while he's recuperating. If I can get Alan completely focussed on beating me then with any luck Gordon's competitive streak will kick in and he'll concentrate on trying to beat Alan rather than stewing over what he can…or rather _can't_ do, instead."

John raised an eyebrow and inclined his head towards his brother. "I suppose it's worth a try. Anything that amuses him has got to be better than nothing." He sagged against the wall slightly with a thoughtful look on his face. "Do you really believe he'll get through this?"

"I can't bring myself to believe anything else," Scott replied quietly. "A world without Gordy in it…our family without Gordy in it…" Scott shook his head. "Like Alan said earlier, it just doesn't bare thinking about."

The brothers sat side by side for a minute or two before Scott turned to look at John again. "Did you come down here for a reason," he asked gently. "…or just to keep me company? It's…" Scott looked at his watch. "Whoa, have I really been sitting here that long? Did Alan…"

John held a hand out to stop him. "Alan and Dad were heading towards the table when I came down here. I thought you might like a break and something to eat. Kyrano's done his usual spread, even though there's only four of us currently available to eat it. I guess he's planning to refrigerate whatever we don't eat so it'll be ready for the others later on."

"I guess you're right," Scott replied vaguely. "Will you be alright down here for a while?" John nodded. "…and you'll call me if anything…um…happens?"

John nodded again. "I will. Go, Scott, before you change your mind. Go, eat, freshen up and then come back. I'll keep watch here while you're gone."

~#~

Tin-Tin emerged from the operating room about five minutes after John had finally persuaded Scott to leave. She stepped through the door and jumped when John rose to his feet beside her.

"Sorry," he murmured. "I didn't mean to startle you. How's it going in there?"

Tin-Tin stretched her arms out beside her and groaned. She then turned back to John and smiled. "It's going well," she replied. "Gordon's holding his own, he's remained completely stable so far and the doctor has almost completely finished his left hand side. The filaments, John, they're incredibly tiny and delicate but Doctor Levenson is managing to manipulate them and he's attaching them to their mooring points with the tiniest little screws that you could ever imagine. He's been adding extra supports where he can but he's limited to just how tightly he can fix everything down because Gordon will either end up too stiff to function properly or he'll snap everything if he bends, twists or stretches too far."

John shuddered. "In other words he wouldn't be able to swim, run, jump or…well, do anything that Gordy does on a daily basis."

Tin-Tin rested a hand on his arm. "The doctor would never put him through that," she whispered. "He's determined that Gordon will be as good, if not better than last time he fixed him and I get the idea that he's taken it as somewhat of a personal insult that this has happened at all."

"It's not his fault," John objected. "…but I can see why he'd think that. Gordon tends to work his way into peoples' hearts and the doctor admitted earlier that he had a soft spot for Gordon. I suppose when you've brought someone back from so close to the brink before…" He shrugged and smiled at Tin-Tin. "Are you coming out for a drink or something to eat? Do you want me to fetch you anything?"

Tin-Tin blushed deeply. "No," she whispered. "It's nothing like that. I don't think we're stopping to eat, I just…I need to use the bathroom. I'll have to scrub back in afterwards; I just couldn't wait any longer."

John flushed slightly and stepped aside to let Tin-Tin past. "I'll hold the fort out here until you get back."


	13. Chapter 13

~#~ (Chapter 13)

As the day wore on, people started gravitating towards the sickroom. Virgil popped out to relieve himself at one point and chuckled when he realised that the entire household was gathered around waiting for news.

"Gordon's doing OK," he announced quietly. "…but it's going to be some time yet. Everything's completed on the left hand side but the right is causing a few problems because there's some…um…" Virgil waved his arms in front of himself as he searched for the correct word. "…crimping in the filaments there. It looks like some of the first strands that came away got themselves tucked in behind some of the others and when everything unravelled they became kinked and twisted. Doctor Levenson's having trouble getting them to lie flat enough that they'll work smoothly, if he doesn't get them right then Gords won't have complete and total control over his right leg. He's quietly confident that he can do it, it'll just take time to get them all right."

Jeff nodded and moved to sit down on the bed which he had occupied a couple of days before. He patted the mattress beside himself and beckoned to Alan who crossed the room and slipped beneath his outstretched arm. Jeff wrapped the arm around his son's shoulders and kissed the top of his head. "I think I speak for everyone when I say that we'll all be here until it's over. Agreed, everyone?"

He looked around and smiled at four heads that nodded back at him. "Whatever time they get done in there, though. Please, please don't let me forget to call your grandmother or my life won't be worth living."

~#~

It took several more hours for Andre Levenson to untangle, reroute and reattach the kinked and twisted filaments on the right hand side of Gordon's back. He stood up, stretched and glanced at the clock. "We're nearly done, Gordon," he murmured softly. "Give me another twenty minutes or so and we should be thinking about getting you all closed up again." The doctor paused and then turned to look at the quiet, studious figure sitting near Gordon's head. "Virgil, would you bring the crash cart nearer for me please?"

Virgil frowned slightly but did what he'd been asked. "Can I ask why we've just done that?" he asked quietly. "You just said that you'd nearly finished."

"I know," the doctor replied. "I'm just pre-empting something that happened last time. Hopefully it was just a fluke occurrence but…" He shrugged. "I'd rather be safe than sorry; especially where this one's concerned."

The lower portion of Doctor Levenson's face was obscured by the surgical mask he was wearing but Virgil saw an unmistakable soft look come across the doctor's eyes as he spoke.

Brains, who was sitting on the opposite side of Gordon to the doctor, looked up from the monitor that he'd been studying. He peered at Doctor Levenson, then at Virgil and then turned back to the monitor with a puzzled look on his face. "He…ah...he looks perfectly s-s-stable at the moment."

Doctor Levenson nodded. "As I said, it's just a precaution." He stretched again and smiled as Tin-Tin held out a glass of water with a straw in it. He stepped away from the bed slightly, pulled down his mask and took a sip of water using the straw. "Thank you, my dear, I'm most grateful. We're nearly done in here, if you'd like to go and tell Jeff and the others. There's no point scrubbing back in now so you may as well wait with them."

Tin-Tin lowered the cup and straw and put them to one side. "As you wish," she replied softly and then reached out and gently gripped the doctor's arm. "What you've done today, Doctor Levenson, is truly amazing and I thank you for letting me help and observe. Gordon couldn't have been in better hands so, from the bottom of my heart, I say thank you. Thank you for trying, for sticking with it and…just thank you for agreeing to come here at all."

The doctor nodded gently. "It is no trouble, my dear. I want to see Gordon back on his feet as much as anyone. Now let me get back to him and we'll see what we can do about finishing up in here."

~#~

Tin-Tin pushed her way through the sickroom door and pulled off her mask, cap and gown. "They're almost finished," she announced quietly and then walked into Alan's arms and snuggled against him. "The doctor's just got to put the last couple of screws in place, close everything up, do some final checks and he'll be done."

"And he's managed to sort out the problem that he'd found earlier? The one that Virgil told us about?" Alan pushed himself back up onto the bed and pulled Tin-Tin into his lap. "He said that everything had got twisted and tangled and…"

Alan found himself silenced by Tin-Tin resting a finger gently across his lips. "One side was a complete mess but Doctor Levenson has sorted it. Everything is lying beautifully, exactly where it should be and the screws and pins and…things have been put in place to keep it all there. It…"

Tin-Tin's next words were cut off as the door to the operating room burst open. The shrill, high-pitched squeal of a heart monitor alarm reverberated out of the doorway, followed a split second later by Virgil's loud bellow for Scott to 'get in here now'. Scott jumped to his feet, hurried inside and slammed the door behind him.

The remaining occupants of the sickroom instinctively gathered around Jeff. Alan and Tin-Tin clung to one another beside him, John wrapped his arms around both his father and brother and Kyrano stood behind them all with one hand resting gently on Jeff's arm and the other on John's.

Long minutes passed with no news coming from the next room. No-one spoke and everyone trained their eyes on the door which remained resolutely shut.

~#~

When the door finally swung open it was done calmly and slowly by Scott who was ushering a clearly shaken Virgil in front of him. Jeff slid off the bed and looked at them with a worried expression on his face until he realised that Scott was very deliberately holding the door ajar to allow the constant, steady sound of Gordon's heart monitor to filter into the room. "You got him back," Jeff raised his hands to his face and leant back heavily against the bed. "Thank God. You got him back."

John wrapped his father in his arms and pulled him close. Alan slid across the bed and wrapped his arms around Jeff's waist and pressed himself tight against his father's back and then Scott and Virgil, not wanting to be left out, made their way over and joined the scrum. Tin-Tin watched them for a brief second and then got well out of the way and slipped herself under Kyrano's arm and hugged him.

~#~

No one had moved by the time Doctor Levenson made his way tiredly out of the operating room. He smiled at the entwined Tracys and cleared his throat. "Jefferson," he said softly. "Would you like to sit with Gordon for a while? Normally I would move him out here but the sterility of the room was broken when we brought Scott in so I see no real purpose in moving him for now. He's fully wired for monitoring and will remain so for some time yet but he's stable, together and as far as I can tell, fully repaired."

Jeff extracted himself from the others and stepped over to shake the doctor's hand. "Thank you," he murmured. "A thousand times, thank you. I…"

Andre shook his head. "I know," he replied and reached out to squeeze Jeff's arm. "I understand, now go. Sit with Gordon and know that he's going to be alright. We've done everything that it's humanly possible to do and now it's up to Gordon to do the rest. He's got a journey ahead of him, just like he did before but this one…this one's going to be a far, far shorter trip than the last one. This is like starting in time for the sprint to the finish line whereas previously Gordon had to tackle the whole marathon, the warm up and most of the training that went before. He's strong, he's fit and with the exception of the past couple of weeks, he's been in top form. He _will_ get through this, Jefferson and don't you forget it."

Jeff smiled, nodded and then walked slowly into the operating room and sat down beside Gordon. The red-head was lying flat on his back with no pillow beneath his head but his face was unmarred and unobstructed due to the fact that he was breathing unaided. Jeff reached up, buried his hand deeply into his son's hair and sighed loudly. He rested his forehead on the bed beside Gordon's shoulder and remained there, silently listening to the slow, steady, comforting sound of Gordon's heartbeat.

~#~

So as to keep the room as quiet and restful as possible, Doctor Levenson suggested that a maximum of two other people should be in the room along with Jeff and whichever medically trained person was monitoring Gordon at the time. Typically the boys disagreed with this but bided their time and appeared to be behaving until it was Virgil's turn to take over Gordon's monitoring. He swapped places with Brains and then waited a couple of minutes until he was certain that the bespectacled genius was well out of the way. He peered into the sickroom, whistled quietly and then held the door open so Scott could enter. Jeff silently watched the goings-on with amusement on his face and nodded approvingly when all four boys positioned themselves quietly around the bed.


	14. Chapter 14

~#~ (Chapter 14)

Gordon remained unconscious for the rest of the afternoon and the doctor explained that he was planning to gradually wean the aquanaut off the sedation in the hope that he'd wake up naturally at some point the following day.

The household's evening meal was eaten in shifts so that Gordon always had at least a couple of family members with him. Once everyone had finished eating the doctor and Brains wheeled him out of the operating room and into the sickroom where he would spend the night. It went without saying that Jeff would spend the night watching over Gordon but Brains offered to stay as well, in case of emergencies. He found himself overruled by Virgil who, with the help of Scott, set up one of the emergency cots along the base of the window.

Kyrano quietly went about his business up in the house while John took Alan and Tin-Tin down to Brains' lab and helped the genius give them a crash course on controlling Thunderbird Five from down on the island.

Scott stayed in the sickroom until Jeff announced that he was going to get ready for bed. The eldest Tracy boy took the hint and wandered away through the house, locking up and checking on everyone as he went. Once he was certain that everybody was safely tucked up in their beds, he retired to his own and wasn't seen again until morning.

~#~

Scott rose early and headed to the kitchen to make himself a quick breakfast. John wandered through as he was finishing up and found himself enlisted into carrying a breakfast tray through to the sickroom for Jeff. Scott handed the tray he was carrying to Virgil and wandered across to check on Gordon. "How's he been?" he asked. "Any sign that he might be thinking about waking up?"

"Not yet." Virgil spoke around a mouthful of food but immediately fell quite again when Jeff raised a disapproving eyebrow at him. He made a point of very theatrically swallowing his food and then cleared his throat before speaking again. "He's still resolutely out at the moment, Scott and he won't wake up until he's good and ready. He's been through a lot…an awful lot, so I wouldn't blame him if he stayed out for a good while longer yet."

Scott nodded and slumped into the chair beside Gordon's bed. John carefully avoided Gordon's feet and slid himself onto the end of the bed. "Do we have a plan of action for today?"

"Not really," Jeff chuckled. "None more so than for the last couple of days anyway. If Andre, Brains and Virgil are all in agreement that Gordon isn't likely to wake up for a while then I thought I might persuade Alan to accompany me on a stroll. We had quite the talk yesterday morning but there were a few things we touched on that we didn't get back to. I'd really like to finish what we were saying to make sure he doesn't take a little bit of conversation and mutate it into something else entirely."

"Like he's prone to do," Scott rolled his eyes and chuckled. "You've spent too much time in the house over the past few days so the fresh air will do you good. Just make sure you don't overdo it. OK?"

Jeff nodded. "I said 'stroll', Scott. I have no intention of taking Alan jogging and I have enough sense left in me not to challenge him to a race round the island. If it didn't finish me off then it'd at least make me bad again so don't worry, we'll be going for a gentle stroll and I'll make sure we take ample rest stops. Agreed?"

John looked over his shoulder and grinned at Virgil who had stopped eating in order to watch the exchange. Virgil looked at John, rolled his eyes and dug back into his breakfast without saying a word.

~#~

A rescue call came in while Jeff and Alan were out. John took the call in Brains' lab, advised the caller that International Rescue would attend and then paged Scott's watch.

Scott was sitting with Gordon and Virgil when his watch suddenly flashed into life. He told John to head to Jeff's office and then had a quiet discussion with Virgil as to whether he wanted to take Two out or if he'd rather stay and keep vigil over Gordon.

Scott wandered into the office alone. John, who had beaten him there, watched his approach with a wry smile on his face. "He's not coming?" he asked. "Even though Gordon's completely stable?"

Scott shook his head. "He didn't have a particularly restful night last night and he's still shook up about yesterday. He told me that he sat up half the night just watching Gordon breathe and that any time he actually fell asleep he woke in a panic with a burning need to check on him."

John nodded thoughtfully. "Make sense, I suppose. How are we going to do this though? I can't fly Two and fish people off a mountain at the same time. Do you want me to pick Alan up from wherever he and Dad have got to and then carry on or what?"

"No," Scott replied with a chuckle. "You'll be flying, I'll be fishing and Tin-Tin will do the patching up. She's gone to shift the doctor's plane out of the way and will be waiting in Two by the time you get there. Go and get everything fired up and I'll come and join you once I've spoken to Dad."

~#~

Jeff was a little reluctant to let Scott run the rescue from within the bowels of Thunderbird 2 but grudgingly acknowledged that the eldest Tracy boy's solution was probably the best under the circumstances. He and Alan watched as Two lifted off and waved as the great, green craft dipped its wing at them before it sped away across the ocean.

"Well, Alan," Jeff said softly. "That's an even odder crew than I was prepared to send out yesterday. I guess we should be glad that it was a straightforward rescue that was called in. If it had been something more trying then you'd have had to run back to the house and leave me to make my own way back." Jeff peered in the direction that Thunderbird 2 had disappeared and then turned and smiled at Alan. "I'm sure Scott will find out if we don't continue our walk so why don't we head for Gordon's cove. We can stop there and rest for a bit before we head back."

Alan nodded and then looked skyward. "You know, it's weird only seeing one ship going off, even if it's Two." Alan paused, thought back through what he'd just said and laughed. "That didn't make any sense, did it? You know what I mean though. One should go out before Two. Two'll look all lost on her…" Alan clamped his mouth shut before he could finish the silly-sounding sentence. "I'll just shut up now. Gordon's cove, right? This way then."


	15. Chapter 15

~#~ (Chapter 15)

Jeff and Alan sat in Gordon's cove for some time before they decided to head back to the villa. As they approached poolside they spotted Kyrano hovering near the top of the steps into the house. He was fidgeting and exuding an air of general agitation and Jeff found his look of alarm matching the one on Alan's face when he glanced across at his son.

Kyrano started a slow descent towards them. Alan watched him approach for a moment and then took the steps two at a time and hurried past him. He tugged open the sliding doors into the house, peered inside and immediately understood the cause of the Malaysian man's unease. "Uh, Dad," he called over his shoulder. "We have a problem. A…er…a big problem."

Jeff chuckled quietly. "So Kyrano's just told me. Hold your horses, son, I'll be there in a moment and I'll put everything right again."

Jeff reached the top of the stairs using Kyrano's arm for a little extra support. He coughed slightly and then rolled his eyes as Alan moved back onto the balcony to take his free arm. "I'm alright," he assured them both. "Just a little out of breath. I wasn't intending to use the steps but needs, as they say, seemed to insist on it."

"The doctor, Dad. Scott. The pictures. Virgil." Alan gave up on what he was trying to say and waved his arm frantically towards the open door in front of them. "Look."

Jeff relinquished his hold on Kyrano's arm and reached over to pat the one that Alan was clinging to him with. "Calm down, Alan," he said softly. "It's fixable and not the end of the world. What it's not though, is fixable from out here. I need to go inside so I can speak to Andre. Are you coming with me or are you going to let me go so I can go in on my own?"

Alan looked at him in confusion. "What?"

Jeff rolled his eyes again and gently shook his arm. "You either need to move or to let go of me. I'm not in any sort of a state to be able fight my arm away from you and Scott's not here to help me, so choose. Either move or let go. I don't mind either way but you need to make a decision and you need to make it now."

Alan's reply was a non-verbal one as he stepped forward and pulled his father through the doorway with him. Once inside, he let go of Jeff's arm, stalked across the room and perched on the edge of the desk.

Jeff glanced around and realised that Virgil was guarding the door to stop anyone from leaving the room. The chestnut haired artist was standing in the doorway with his arms folded and a frown on his face. "Stand down, Virgil," Jeff ordered quietly. "Andre's not going anywhere. At least he certainly doesn't look like he is…"

Doctor Levenson was sitting on Thunderbird 3's launch sofa with his back towards the view-screen portraits, four of which were displaying John, Scott, Virgil and Alan in their International Rescue uniforms. He saluted at Jeff with his coffee mug and smiled. "I have no intention of going anywhere," he replied softly. "I still have a patient here, remember? I'm not going to abandon Gordon because of…" Andre turned and waved his mug at the view-screens. "…that. It worries me slightly that he doesn't seem to be involved in what is obviously a family business though. I was under the impression that, up until very recently, Gordon was fully functional and it upsets me somewhat to think that he's been excluded from something which, knowing Gordon as I do, he'd excel at."

Jeff ran a hand across his face and started across the room to his desk. He faltered after a couple of steps and changed course, instead motioning to Virgil to move one of the couches nearer to the sofa where Andre was sitting. He dropped onto the newly-relocated couch, buried his face in his hands for a moment and then opened his eyes to the welcome sight of a steaming mug of coffee being held in front of him by Kyrano. He took the coffee with a quiet word of thanks and then sat with it in both hands as he looked back and forth between Doctor Levenson, the portraits, Alan and Virgil, the latter of which had chosen to sit himself on the desk beside his brother. "It seems that Scott may have forgotten a couple of things in his haste to leave with John," he said eventually. "Andre, you've clearly worked out that International Rescue is operated from here on Tracy Island. We…the boys and I…_are_ International Rescue. Along with Tin-Tin, the boys are part and parcel of what makes International Rescue work. They are the brawn behind the operation, Tin-Tin is a skilled mechanic, a pilot and our backup medic and Brains is…well, he's the brains behind everything that flies digs, trundles, lifts and dives. And yes, by 'dives' I do mean below the surface of the water…exactly where Gordon's in his element. It may not look it at first glance but Gordon is included in everything we do. He's as much a part of the team as everyone else and can work a broad range of machinery as well as piloting his very own miniature submarine. He…"

"The Empire State." Andre had gradually edged forwards on the sofa as Jeff had been speaking. He put his mug on the floor beside him and waved an arm excitedly in front of himself. "The Empire State," he repeated. "The little yellow sub that rescued Ned Cook and his cameraman. That was Gordon, wasn't it?"

Jeff smiled proudly and nodded his head. "It was," he replied. "…and just in the nick of time too. Another couple of minutes and he'd have been too late."

Andre's brow furrowed slightly. "How on earth do you deal with the press? I remember them really going to town over that one, what with one of their own being saved and all that. There was something else though. Something about that particularly rescue that made it stick in my mind. What was it they were saying?" The doctor tapped his finger against his lips for a moment and hummed. Jeff cast a watchful eye in Virgil's direction and shook his head gently as his son rolled his eyes and looked skywards. "I know," Andre announced suddenly. "It was that no one could work out how the sub had got into the tunnels under the Empire State in the first place. The big green transporter craft that usually delivers the equipment hadn't been seen anywhere about and there was speculation that the sub had hitched a lift on some big Navy vessel that was in the area."

"The Sentinel," Virgil muttered quietly. "…and the speculation wouldn't be too far wrong. Four, that's what we call Gordon's submarine, _was_ delivered by the Sentinel. She came almost halfway home that way too before a certain crafty aquanaut persuaded the captain to drop him off for a bit of sightseeing."

Alan snorted. "I still reckon the captain was glad to be rid of him. Gords did admit to being a little…um…short with him. He said the rest of the crew were alright but that he couldn't find it in himself to forgive the captain for what happened to Two."

The doctor tipped his head to one side in a questioning manner. "Two?"

"The big green transporter craft," Jeff murmured. "Which would have been used to deliver Four to New York had the captain of the Sentinel not been so quick to release his missiles."

"Virgil was on his way back here when, without warning, the Sentinel started taking pot-shots at him," Alan continued, speaking almost as quietly as his father. "Two's big and not that manoeuvrable so she didn't stand a chance. Virgil barely made it back here in one piece and Two, well her cockpit survived but most of the rest of her didn't really survive crash landing back here on the island."

Virgil hung his head and sighed. "I'm kind of glad I didn't see her like that. Two mark 2's turned out to be just as good as the mark 1 though; better in some ways seeing as how we had the chance to add features that we hadn't thought of when we built the original." Virgil stopped and shrugged. "It all worked out OK in the end, I guess."

Jeff smiled as Alan leaned over and elbowed his brother in the ribs. Virgil wasn't ready for the move and toppled sideways off the edge of the desk but his reflexes were as good as ever and he reached out as he fell and pulled Alan down with him. Both boys hit the floor with a thud and Alan found himself on the wrong end of a brief tickle attack before Virgil sprang to his feet and stalked away to throw himself on the couch beside Jeff. Alan picked himself up, sat back on the desk and grinned.

Jeff rolled his eyes at the pair and looked across to find Andre watching them with an amused look on his face. "Are you alright with all this? Is there anything you need to ask and do you understand why I refrained from telling you about everything in the first place?"

Andre nodded. "I understand, Jeff," he replied. "It also explains, in my mind at least, why the International Rescue guys have always been so reluctant to have anyone film themselves or their crafts. If anyone got even the slightest notion of who they were then it would only be a matter of time before someone else worked out _where_ they were. You would all be in danger and your home would have no longer been your own." The doctor paused and searched around until he found his coffee cup. He lifted it from the floor, took a sip and then grimaced when he realised the contents had gone cold. "No-one will get anything from me, Jeff. If you want me to sign something, a confidentiality agreement or the like, then I'm more than happy to do so. I'll also give you my assurance that should you…and that's _any_ of you, need my help in the future then I will drop everything, get in my plane and be here just as soon as is humanly possible. My skills and my silence are all I have to offer but offer them I will. Freely and without reservation or judgement."

Jeff closed his eyes and breathed out a long, cleansing breath. "That is enough," he murmured, opening his eyes and smiling at the doctor. "…and more than I could have hoped for. You're right, of course, that there is some paperwork involved but after that…" He shrugged. "There may be times we need to call on you, there may not. Gordon will always be under your care, whatever happens in the future. You are, after all, the only person on the planet who he trusts with his back. Brains and Tin-Tin, they're allowed near any other part of him but his back...? No, that's you or, well, no-one. As clearly demonstrated by the happenings of the past week or so. If Gordon knows that you know, so to speak, then with any luck he'll be more willing to speak out if he's struggling. If he knows that you can be here within a day or two then some of the worries he has about asking for help will fade and he will call on one of us so that he can be checked out before a problem, such as the one we've just seen, escalates into something more drastic."

Andre nodded. "I agree. My door has always been open to Gordon but I know he's reluctant to show any sort of weakness. It's understandable, bearing in mind the four strapping, healthy brothers that he has to compete with."


	16. Chapter 16

~#~ (Chapter 16)

Jeff didn't have a chance to reply because John chose that moment to call in. Andre turned in his seat as a loud beeping noise sounded behind him and was alarmed to see the eyes of John's portrait flashing brightly. "What on earth…?"

"Alan," Jeff nodded at his youngest son who was still perched on the desk. "Do the honours."

Alan reached behind him and pressed the button which flipped Jeff's ashtray over to reveal a speaker. John's portrait disappeared and John himself became visible. "Father, we're all done h…Oh, shi…um…Doctor Levenson, hi."

"Well saved, Johnny," Jeff chuckled. "As you can see, we've had a little excitement here this morning. It's all fine now but I _will_ be having words with both yourself and your brother when you get back. Particularly your brother. Where is he, by the way?"

John turned slightly as someone opened the door behind him but it turned out to be Tin-Tin, rather than Scott who was entering the cockpit. She handed him a travel mug and then squatted beside him and smiled at the screen. "Hello everyone," she murmured. "Oh, that's an…interesting development. Doctor Levenson, how is Gordon?"

The doctor smiled at Tin-Tin's quiet acceptance of his presence. "He's still asleep, Tin-Tin, or at least he was the last time I saw him. Your father and Virgil had me held hostage in here for quite some time while they were waiting for Jeff and Alan to return but Brains hasn't called up so it must be still quiet down there. What have the three of you been up to, if I'm allowed to ask?"

Tin-Tin looked at Jeff who nodded. "We've been lifting three climbers off Nanga Parbat in Pakistan. Well, Scott's been lifting them and I've been looking after them. One of them had a broken leg, another had a dislocated shoulder and the third seemed to be completely unharmed but was deep in shock. He was the lead man of the three and had been pulled down onto a ledge with the others when they fell. The tethers holding them together had become tangled and due to the injuries of the other two all three of them had become completely trapped. It took Scott some time to cut everyone free but he managed it eventually and we flew them to the army hospital in Gilgit for treatment. Scott's down in the winch room putting everything away so it's ready for the next time we need it."

"A job well done," Andre commented admiringly. "So where are you now?"

Tin-Tin leaned across and peered at one of the information screens. John smiled and shook his head when he realised that she couldn't possibly see the information from where she was sitting. "Nineteen minutes," he whispered. "Well, eighteen and a half if you want to impress Virgil."

Tin-Tin giggled. "We'll be back in a little over eighteen minutes," she announced. "I'll guess I should go and tell Scott."

"Tin-Tin," Jeff called softly. "Could you just give him the ETA please? Don't tell him what's happened. The same goes for you to, John, keep it buttoned."

John shrugged. "OK. If that's what you want. Do you need us to send him up to you when we get back?"

Jeff nodded. "Please," he replied as a grin broke across his face. "I'd like him alone for a while though so I'd like you and Tin-Tin to complete the post-flight before you come up."

"We can do that." John frowned slightly as he looked at his father. "Why do I get the impression you're up to something and that Scott's not going to like it?"

Jeff grinned again and then shook his head. "It's something that needs to be done. Just don't say anything, either of you. Now sign off and concentrate on getting that bird home. Andre, you're going to want to see this. Come with me."

The doctor looked puzzled for a moment as Jeff stood up and headed towards the door. He looked around, shrugged and followed the Tracy patriarch from the room, eventually finding himself in another room containing banks of computers and an overly wide window. He walked over to the window, peered down and realised that they were directly above the island's runway. The palm trees lining the tarmac strip waved gently in the breeze and there was a clear view of the ocean beyond.

After a moment or two, Andre frowned. "Jeff," he murmured. "Someone's moved my plane. It should be directly below us; I'm certain of it. There is only one runway on the island, isn't there?"

Jeff stepped up beside the doctor and chuckled. "You left your plane exactly there." He pointed to the patch of tarmac directly below the window. "But believe me, you wouldn't have been happy if it had been left there." He glanced at his watch and then held a hand up to his eyes as he peered out across the ocean. "You'll see why in just a moment."

Andre tried to work out what Jeff was looking at but couldn't make out any obvious features beyond the island, the ocean and the sky. "The dot there." Jeff pointed at a particular spot in the sky and kept his arm extended until Andre nodded. "Keep your eye on that. It's going to grow. Fast."

~#~

The doctor rested his hands on the window ledge and allowed most of his weight to be supported on his arms. He was vaguely aware that Jeff had stepped back to do something with the computers behind him but did what he was told and kept his eye on the 'dot' in the sky.

As Jeff had stated, the 'dot' was growing fast. Andre squinted slightly as he began to be able to make out a vague shape to the object and then laughed loudly when he finally made out the colour. "Green," he shouted excitedly. "It's the big green transporter craft. That's what John's flying, isn't it? What they've just plucked those people off the mountain with?"

"It is." Jeff stepped up beside him again and chuckled. "Now, Andre, what's going to happen next is probably a little startling for someone who hasn't seen it before but I'd ask that you please don't be alarmed. You are completely safe, it just…well, it may not seem like it from where you're standing."

Andre briefly glanced at the Tracy patriarch and then turned his eyes back to the returning form of Thunderbird 2. "I have no choice but to believe you," he murmured quietly. "…but if you start to run then I'm damn well following you."

Jeff snorted. "If I feel the need to run then it'll already be too late. Look, here they come."

Andre was intently watching Thunderbird 2 when the two lines of palm trees on either side of the runway suddenly dropped to the floor and the floor beneath his feet began to vibrate. "What the…Jefferson Tracy, what sort of a setup have you got going on here?"

Jeff chuckled again. "I'll get the boys to give you the grand tour later on. For now though, it's suffice to say that Thunderbird 2 wouldn't fit on the runway if the trees were in place. Virgil would have mown them down a long time ago and it would have been a little obvious to anyone visiting that something was amiss here on the island."

Thunderbird 2 began descending steeply until she was just a few metres above the ocean when John set her on a steady cruise straight towards the runway. With a precision, normally associated with one of Virgil's landings, John brought the great green craft down on the smooth tarmac and brought her to a halt just under the window. He leant forwards, waved up at his father and the doctor and then flicked a couple of switches and Thunderbird 2 rolled away beneath them.

Jeff grinned as Andre leaned forwards to watch the craft as it disappeared. "Now I think you may be able to understand why your plane couldn't stay where you'd left it," he said with a chuckle. "I promise that you'll get to see everything but for now we need to get back to the lounge. John's right, Scott isn't going to like this but it does _have_ to be done."


	17. Chapter 17

~#~ (Chapter 17)

Jeff waited until Andre had sat down at the desk and then moved across the room and stood out of sight behind one of the decorative statues. Andre picked up a random contract and started flicking through it as he waited for Scott to arrive.

After a couple of minutes, a quiet whirr sounded in the corridor. This was followed by a click, a gentle whoosh and a set of quiet footsteps and a moment later Scott rounded the corner and entered the room. The eldest Tracy boy was grimy and tired-looking and for a moment Jeff had second thoughts about going through with his 'punishment'. Andre saw the doubts in the Tracy patriarch's eyes and gently shook his head. He knew there was no malice behind Jeff's prank and there was no-one apart from himself and Jeff around so Scott's reaction couldn't come back on him in years to come.

Scott dropped onto one of the couches, rested his head on the back and closed his eyes. "Weird rescue," he said softly. "…and very odd going out with Johnny and Tin. Strange combination, eh?"

Andre remained quiet and watched Scott for a moment. The younger man lifted his head to query why his father hadn't replied and opened his eyes widely when he realised that it wasn't Jeff sitting at the desk. "Whoa," he cried, leaping to his feet. "What. Um…What are you doing there? Where's Dad?" Scott paused and looked down at his uniform and blanched. "Shi…what's going on here? Why…what? I don't understand."

Andre stood up and stepped around the desk. He held his hand out to Scott who automatically took it. "I know everything," he said softly. "It seems that you forgot a few things when you left here earlier. I walked through here after breakfast so I could drink my coffee looking over the ocean and I came across…well, those." The doctor waved his free hand in the direction of the portraits. "They made me stop and think, I can tell you and I was sitting down pondering everything when Kyrano came through. I'm still not sure what he yelled at me because it certainly wasn't in English but the long and short of it was that he called Virgil up from the sickroom and the pair wouldn't let me leave again. It took your father's arrival to get them to back off but I understand why and I honestly don't mind."

Scott frowned and opened his mouth to speak. He looked from the doctor to the portraits and back again and then shook his head. "Where's Dad?" he asked pitifully. "Why isn't he here? I need…I…I…um…Where?"

Jeff stepped quietly up behind Scott and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "I'm here, Scotty," he murmured. "I'm sorry, it was just too good an opportunity to pass up. You literally left everything up, running and turned on when you left. Andre would've had to have been blind to not have worked out what was going on. Alan and myself got back from our stroll and walked into something of a hostage situation. Virgil was guarding one door, Kyrano was covering the other and Andre? Well, he was sitting on the sofa, as comfortably as ever, peacefully drinking his coffee." Jeff looked across at the doctor and smiled. "He was more worried to find that Gordon wasn't a part of International Rescue than he was of finding out that the other four of you _were_ a part of it."

Scott bristled slightly. "He is so a part of…why would you…" He pulled his hand out of Andre's grasp and started to step forward when he caught sight of the portraits. "Oh," he continued, backing down and then dropping backwards onto the couch behind him. "Yeah. Well, I suppose I can see why you would think that. Gordy just needs a new screen, that's all. Here…" He stood up again and stalked across to the desk where he pressed one of the buttons. His, John's, Virgil's and Alan's screens all rolled out of sight and were replaced with their cover-up pictures. "That's better. Now we all match. I'm sorry for not doing that earlier, Father, really I am but I'm glad it worked out in the end. Doctor Levenson, thank you for being so understanding."

Andre nodded gently. "It's my pleasure, Scott. I'm one of the few people on this earth with the knowledge of exactly who makes up International Rescue and where they're based. I feel privileged to be worthy of that information, even though I came across it in somewhat of an unorthodox manner." He paused for a moment before continuing. "I do still have one query about all this though."

"Oh," Jeff cocked his head to one side. "…and what is that?"

Andre smiled. "Who moved my plane, how and where did they put it?"

Scott let out a deep breath and chuckled. "Tin-Tin moved it," he replied. "Luckily you left her just enough space to get the hangar door open and she simply used of the rescue trucks and towed it out of the way. It's on the other side of the door to where it was but pushed slightly to the right. It's tucked away safely and you'll find it in exactly the state that you left it."

"I have no doubt of that, Scott," the doctor replied with a nod of his head. "I shan't need it for a few days anyhow so it can stay where it is for now…assuming it's not in anyone's way, of course."

Jeff smiled. "A little thing like that, Andre? It's much more likely to get lost in Thunderbird 2's hangar than it is to get in the way in there. You'll see for yourself when the boys show you round, they can take it in turns to do so after they've eaten. I'll let each of them show you their own machines and John can spend the time with Gordon, seeing as how there's no way of him showing you his. I don't think he'll mind, it'll be quiet enough in there without everyone fussing around and John will probably appreciate the peace after taking Two out. Ah, speak of the devil…"

John rounded the corner followed by Alan and Tin-Tin. "Hello Father, hello Doctor Levenson. Scott, you're still in one piece; that's got to be a good sign."

Scott nodded. "You could have warned me," he grumbled. "You obviously knew before you sent me up here like some sacrificial offering."

John chuckled as he nodded. "I did," he admitted. "…but I was following a direct order in not telling you. Father obviously had some dastardly form of punishment ready to dish out to you and I wasn't going to get myself in trouble by dropping you any hints. The post-flight checks needed to be done anyway, so neither Tin-Tin nor myself were actually lying when we said we were staying behind to do them."

Scott shrugged. "I guess. And you're right, I'm still here. Nothing broken, damaged or…whatever. You've been volunteered for Gordy duty later on, by the way. Virg, Alan and myself have some birds to show off to the doctor here. Will you be OK with sitting with him while we do so?"

"Not a problem," John replied with a smile as he sat down beside Scott. "Five's not readily available for demonstrations, after all, is she?"

Jeff chuckled. "I knew you'd understand. Andre, I'm not going to have anyone show you Four either. She's Gordon's baby, as you know and I think he'd like to show you her himself once he's up to it. I'm sure you're going to be coming back and forth for a while to check up on him and there's no reason now that you can't come for a visit, even if you don't have a particular, legitimate reason."

Andre nodded. "I thank you for the offer and yes, I agree, Gordon should show me his craft himself. I don't quite understand why John can't show me his though. Is it not on the island? Do you have another base somewhere? On one of the major continents or something?"

Jeff shook his head. "Not exactly, no. John's craft, Thunderbird 5, sits far nearer to the island than any of the continents do." He smiled at Andre's bemused expression. "Don't think across or down," he murmured. "Think 'up', as in straight up, as in way, way, way up. John's an astronaut by trade, Andre; that should be enough for you to work it out."

"A space station?" Andre asked incredulously. "You have a space station? Really? Wow, that's just...wow. Doesn't it have to be registered though? So nothing crashes into it or shoots it down or…something? I thought that anything that floats or orbits or...whatever, around the planet had to be logged with the space agency so that they knew what was up there."

Jeff chuckled again. "She's registered," he replied with a grin. "Just not as a fully manned, Thunderbird machine. Officially she's a Tracy Industries communications satellite, set in geostationary orbit above the island home of said company's slightly eccentric CEO." He chuckled again. "That would be me…obviously."

John rolled his eyes at his father. "I'll point her out to you, Doctor but she's not visible until after dark. She doesn't look like much from down here though, she looks pretty much like a star but I _can_ point her out."

The doctor nodded. "Thank you, John. I'd like that. Well, today really has been a day of revelations. I'd like to check on Gordon and I'm sure Virgil would like the chance to go over the rescue with you, seeing as how you were apparently using his ship. I'll swap with him and sit with Gordon for a while. Do I need to tell Virgil where to find you?"

Scott shook his head. "No, he'll know to come here. We need to go through everything with Father and he'll know to come here and join us. Thank you, Doctor."


	18. Chapter 18

~#~ (Chapter 18)

Gordon remained silently insensate while his brothers ate their post-rescue meal with their father, Brains and Tin-Tin. Doctor Levenson sat with Gordon in the sickroom and quietly told him everything he'd learned during that morning. The aquanaut Gordon made no verbal response to the conversation but the doctor noted a slight increase of activity on his monitors and nodded quietly to himself at the small sign that Gordon had finally embarked on his long fight back to consciousness.

"Jeff," he murmured when the Tracy patriarch wandered into the room. "I think he's on his way back to us. I can't guarantee when he'll wake, it could still be some time but I can tell you that everything's looking good. You'll see that I've adjusted the straps holding him still so that his arms are now completely free. I remember from the first time I operated on him that Gordon doesn't appreciate being held down and from memory he is considerably calmer if his arms are free when he wakes."

Jeff nodded and then turned towards the door as his other sons piled into the room. From the raucous noise level it was apparent that there was a light-hearted argument going on among the boys with Scott and Virgil on one side and the two blondes tag-teamed against them on the other. "Boys," he called softly. "That's quite enough. I know we want Gordon to wake up but that racket isn't conducive to calm, comfort or healing and it doesn't look particularly good in front of our guest either, now does it?"

All four boys immediately fell silent and shook their heads. Scott straightened himself up and stood a respectful distance from the two older men and his bothers followed suit.

"That's better," Jeff murmured. "You'll all be glad to know that there are signs that Gordon's finally shaking off the sedation and that he might be back with us at some point today. Obviously we don't know exactly when he'll wake or how 'with it' he'll be when he comes round so we're going to continue with the plan of you three…" he waved at Scott, Virgil and Alan. "…showing Andre around your birds. I take it you can be trusted to be sensible in regards to who shows him what and when. Scott, I'm leaving that up to you. You two…" He waved at just Virgil and Alan this time. "…do what your brother tells you. OK?"

Virgil and Alan looked at one another, grinned and then, in perfect time with one another, replied with a loud "Yes, Father."

Jeff rolled his eyes, stepped back slightly and motioned towards the chair beside the bed. "John, if you'd like to take the chair…"

John nodded and moved across the room. He knelt down, fished a large book out from a box beneath the bed and then settled himself quietly in the chair. "Me and Gords'll be OK in here and we'll shout if we need anything. You lot go and have fun with the birdies. We'll be here when you get back."

Jeff opened his mouth and then closed it with a snap and shrugged. "I guess that means I'm coming along on the tour," he chuckled. "Having seen your reaction, Andre, to being only relatively near to Two, I'm quite looking forward to seeing what you make of her up-close. And Three…" He chuckled again. "That could be an interesting reaction as well."

"Charming," Scott huffed under his breath. "Just because One's smaller than Two and slower than Three, it doesn't mean she's any less impressive."

Alan and Virgil burst out laughing at their eldest brother's put-upon expression. Jeff put his hand up to his eyes and shook his head. "Andre," he murmured. "Please excuse my children. As you may have already guessed one-upmanship runs rife around this house. Each bird…and each boy have their own specialities but the boys do insist on continuously testing the boundaries of what everything and every_one_ can do. Each of the birds was built with a specific purpose, or task, in mind. Occasionally we come across a situation where we don't have the exact piece of machinery or equipment to affect a particular rescue in the way we would like but the boys are good at improvising with what they have and have to make do."

Virgil looked at Scott and nodded. "And then we come home and harass Brains until he builds us something that would have done the job properly in the first place. We have quite a lot of equipment that is particularly specialised because of that. Things that may only be used once or twice a year but that are absolutely essential in saving many more lives than we might have done if we didn't have them."

Scott nodded this time. "We probably won't have time to show you those today so I think the pods will have to wait until tomorrow. There's enough of them to form their very own tour so we might just skirt round them when you look at Two. We're still agreed that Pod 4 is staying sealed though? Yes?"

"Yes," Jeff replied. "Until either we need it or Gordon's up to opening it for himself. John, you definitely don't mind being left out of this?"

John shook his head. "Definitely…and I'll be sure to shout if either I need anyone or if Gordy seems to be waking up. OK?"

Jeff chuckled. "OK," he replied. "Scott, if you'd like to lead the way."

~#~

In the end Scott decided to show Doctor Levenson the ships in number order, mainly due to the location of their hidden silos in relation to the sickroom. This meant that they started with the smallest and nearest craft, Thunderbird 1 before they moved onto the great, green leviathan, Thunderbird 2 and finished up under the Roundhouse with the tallest bird in the fleet; the sleek, red rocket designated Thunderbird 3.

Jeff walked out of each silo with the others but left them for a few minutes each time as he wandered back to the infirmary to check on John and Gordon. The first time he walked in John was sitting quietly in the chair beside his brother, studying his book. The second time he wandered through however, he discovered that John had fallen asleep. The six foot two inch blonde had curled himself up on the chair and had his head resting on the edge of Gordon's bed at a particularly uncomfortable-looking angle. Jeff walked up to the bed and peered at John as he tried to judge how likely it was that he'd manage to move his second-born son without disturbing him. After a moment he rolled his eyes, shrugged and then stepped across the room and pulled the blanket off the other bed. He crossed back to where John was sleeping and gently covered him with the soft material before tenderly resting a hand on his head. "Sleep well," he murmured. "And the same goes for you too, Gordon. I'll see you both later."


	19. Chapter 19

~#~ (Chapter 19)

After covering John, Jeff set off towards Thunderbird 3's silo. Despite using the monorail system he found himself tiring and was unusually out of sorts by the time he met up with the others. Andre caught Scott and Virgil swapping concerned looks with one another and eventually called the tour short claiming that he was fatigued. He apologised to Alan and promised that he would finish the tour of the rocket when he was 'awake enough to take it all in.'

Alan had also noticed Jeff's weary demeanour and correctly understood why the doctor had asked to stop the tour for the day. He nodded gently and then winked at Andre and let out a few light-hearted but much-expected grumbles about his bird not getting the attention she deserved. Jeff looked at him momentarily and then rolled his eyes and turned to board the monorail back up into the house.

~#~

Despite being more or less dead on his feet, Jeff insisted that he, Andre, Alan, Scott and Virgil ate supper together. No-one had the heart to object so they sat down as requested and nobody was particularly surprised when the Tracy patriarch drifted off to sleep at the table before he'd managed more than two bites of his food.

Andre leant across and gently felt for the pulse point in Jeff's left wrist. He glanced at his watch for a moment and smiled when the boys remained quiet as he counted the beats of their father's heart. "He's OK," the doctor whispered quietly. "…just exhausted. He's done a lot of running around today on top of a highly stressful day yesterday and I don't suppose having you, Scott, going out with the others earlier helped either. From what he's told me, you've been running things since he became unwell."

Scott shrugged self-deprecatingly. "Kind of, yes. He didn't really _need_ to do anything today though. Anything at all. He just…he struggles to switch off. It's a trait most of us have inherited from him that but he's worse than all of us put together. It's not his fault, it's just how he is but he doesn't do himself any favours pushing himself too hard. Especially at the moment." Scott stood up and moved to the head of the table where he crouched beside his father. "I'm going to put him to bed," he announced. "In his own room, if possible. It's quieter in there and he'll be more comfortable in his own bed. If nothing changes downstairs then it seems like Johnny's going to be spending the night with Gordy, although someone might need to chuck him out of the chair and onto one of the beds before he finds himself too stiff to move in the morning."

Virgil chuckled. "If you're taking Dad then I'll take Johnny. He'll move and if he's half as gone as Dad said he is then I doubt he'll even remember doing it. Deal?"

He looked at Scott who grinned. "Deal."

~#~

Scott gently shook Jeff to the point where he was awake enough to stand up and then walked him slowly through the house and into his room. He pulled back the covers, waited for his father to slip out of his shoes and lie down and then tucked him in. "There's a change of clothes on your chair," he murmured softly. "…ready for the morning. You concentrate on sleeping and I'll look after everything else. OK?"

Jeff smiled and let his heavy-lidded eyes slide closed. "OK. Someone needs to sort John out though…and watch Gordon."

Scott let out a quite chuff of laughter and shook his head. "Already thought of. Virgil's on Gordy duty overnight and will spend the night in the cot watching over both him and Johnny. Now, that's enough worrying. Go to sleep and I'll come and see you in the morning."

~#~

Scott sat with Jeff until he was certain that the older man was fast asleep. He wandered through the house in search of Alan and found the youngest Tracy snuggled up to Tin-Tin in front of the television. He nodded his approval and left the youngsters to their film before continuing his stroll through the house. As he walked past the kitchen he noticed light coming out from under the door and stuck his head into the room to investigate.

Kyrano and Doctor Levenson were sat at the table, engrossed in a card game and looked up as he entered. "All OK?" the doctor asked. "Jeff asleep?"

Scott nodded. "He didn't put up much of a fight. Once he was sure that John and Gordy were going to be looked after he gave up and dropped off pretty much straight away. Hopefully he'll stay put until the morning." He looked down at the table-top and frowned. "What are you betting with? Peanuts?"

Kyrano dipped his head and smiled. "They were your grandmother's idea after Master Alan knocked the jar over a few months ago. They are easier to cope with than the peppercorns that we used previously."

Scott chuckled. "I can see why," he replied, picking up one of the nuts and rolling it around in his hand. "There's not much substance to a peppercorn. At least you've got something to get hold of with one of these. I take it you keep them somewhere that someone's not going to eat them by mistake."

Kyrano dipped his head again. "We do. Would you like to join us?"

Scott shook his head. "No, you two carry on, I don't want to intrude. I'm going to check on the others and then I'm going to get some paperwork done. Alan and Tin are still up at the moment so I'll lock up later. I'll see you both in the morning."

Scott left the two men to their game and ambled down to the sickroom to check on the remainder of the family.

~#~

Virgil had woken John and sent him to his room to change while he stayed with Gordon. By the time Scott arrived, John had returned and he and Virgil were sitting side by side on the spare bed, talking quietly.

"Hello you three," Scott called softly as he walked through the door. "Dad's asleep, Alan and Tin-Tin are watching a film, Kyrano and the doctor are playing cards and I have no idea of the whereabouts of Brains. How's it going in here?"

"All quiet," Virgil replied. "…and I can tell you that Brains is in his lab. He's spending the night down there so he can keep his ear on the feed from Five. That way he can intercept any calls before the alarms go off and Dad won't get disturbed. Did he put up much of a fight about you putting him to bed?"

Scott shook his head. "No. Like I've just told the doctor, his main worry was that John and Gordon were being tended to. Once I told him that you were on the case he gave up and fell asleep. I see you weren't particularly successful in moving your not-medically-asleep charge. You were supposed to stay asleep Johnny, just on the bed rather than in the chair."

John looked from Scott to Virgil and then back again. "He woke me up, kicked me out and told me to go and get changed. How is any of that my fault? And why do I need looking after anyway? I only fell asleep."

Scott rolled his eyes. "Firstly, I never said it was your fault and secondly, Dad always worries about you; the same as he does with all of us. Going out as main pilot of Two and helping to coordinate the rescue while in mid-air is about as far removed from your usual routine as it's possible to get. Dad knows that you can handle it or he wouldn't have let you go but he also knows that it'll take more of a toll on you than it would on myself, Virgil or Alan because it's more our normal modus operandi. That's not taking anything away from you or what you did today it's just…" Scott stopped and shrugged. "It's different, that's all. Everything's all messed up at the moment, we're all doing the wrong things in the wrong machines and it's just…different. OK?"

John let out a breathy chuckle at Scott's inelegant description of the day's events. "It sure is. Different, strange, scary…I'm sure a whole heap of other words would fit there as well but to be honest, I'm still tired and I really wouldn't mind being allowed to crash again now I've changed and am ready for bed. Virg, I don't know whether you were planning on talking, reading or what you were planning on doing but I really want to sleep."

Virgil nodded. "That's fine by me. I could do with catching-up on some sleep myself after last night. Gords has been plenty stable enough all day so hopefully he won't plague my dreams again tonight and I'll actually get some proper shut-eye."

Scott looked between his brothers. "I'll sit with you while Virg goes and gets changed, John. I'm not heading to bed yet and I don't want to lock up around Alan so I'll stay here until you're both ready to settle down."

~#~

Virgil changed into his nightclothes, did his teeth and then returned to the sickroom. Scott said his goodnights and left and gradually the villa fell quiet.

After making a sizeable dent in the paperwork sitting on Jeff's desk, Scott got up and did one last tour round the house to check that everyone was safely asleep. He secured the outside doors, switched off any remaining lights and then retired to his room.

~#~

Gordon, in a typically Gordonish move, finally fought his way back to consciousness just after three o'clock the next morning. John, whose bed was tucked in close to Gordon's, woke as soon as the rhythm on his brother's heart monitor began to change. He clambered from his bed and stood beside Gordon for several minutes before crossing the room and shaking Virgil awake. "Virg," he hissed. "Virg, I need you. Wake up you great lump."

It was a testament to how deeply Virgil was asleep that he remained that way until John resorted to pulling the sheet he was lying on out from underneath him. Virgil rolled with the sheet and ended up on the floor with a thump and a loud 'oomph'. "What the hell, John? This better be important."

"Sorry," John replied, managing to sound slightly apologetic so as to appease his brother. "It's just I think Gordy's waking up. Either that or he's having a nightmare or…something and I need you to look at him."

Virgil glanced towards Gordon's bed and then peered up at John. "OK then, I guess I can forgive you. Let me up and I'll see what I think." He held his hand up so that John could help him from the floor and stepped over towards Gordon. He studied the monitors for a moment and hummed softly to himself as he rested a hand gently on his brother's forehead. He smiled when the forehead beneath him crinkled slightly beneath his palm and turned to John. "Oh yeah, he's on his way back alright. Go and wake Scott…and get the doctor too. Ask Scott what he wants to do about Dad 'cos Gords isn't going to wake up straight away and Dad really needs his sleep."

John nodded and hurried from the sickroom. He woke Doctor Levenson first as his room was nearer to the sickroom than Scott's and then rushed through the house and let himself into Scott's suite, calling out quietly as he hurried into the bedroom.

Scott was out of bed and on his feet before John reached him. He pulled a t-shirt over his head while John explained the situation and then stepped into a pair of sneakers and followed his brother from the room.

He paused when he got level with Jeff's door and reached out to stop John. "I can't, in all good conscience, go downstairs without at least telling him what's going on," he said quietly, nodding at the door. "I know he needs to rest but he also needs to be there when Gords wakes up and if that means a bit more disturbed sleep then…" Scott shrugged. "I can't do anything about that. He has to be there and that's that."

John nodded. "I know," he agreed quietly. "I thought that when Virgil said about not getting him. Dad would be upset and I don't want to know what it'd do to Gordy to wake up without Dad there; bearing in mind the state Dad was in the last time Gordon saw him."

"That's true," Scott replied with a shudder. "Although as Brains said, we have no way of knowing exactly what Gordon will remember about that. He may well remember everything but it's just as possible that he won't recall anything at all. Go back down to him, Johnny. I'll have a word with Dad and I'll see you shortly; either alone or with Dad. Either way, I'll see you soon. OK?"

John nodded again. "OK," he whispered. "...but don't be too long. Virg said that we've got time before Gords wakes up but you know how he is when he puts his mind to something. I think he'll be back before Virgil's ready for him to be."


	20. Chapter 20

~#~ (Chapter 20)

John's words turned out to be prophetic because Gordon's return to consciousness happened faster than anyone could have predicted. The aquanaut opened his eyes and peered blearily up at the face that was hovering above him. He blinked to clear his vision and let out a whine when the blurry figure in front of him morphed into Doctor Levenson. "Wha…?" he croaked. "Nnn. Da. Whe Da?"

Virgil unceremoniously elbowed the doctor out of the way and gently spooned a couple of ice chips into Gordon's mouth. Gordon locked eyes with his brother and stared up at him as he let the chips melt and add some much-needed moisture to his mouth. "'gil. Whe's Dad. Wan Dad, 'gil. Where?"

Virgil buried his hands gently into the hair on either side of Gordon's head. "He's coming," he replied quietly. "Scott's gone to fetch him. They'll be here soon. I promise."

"Nnno," Gordon weakly tried to shake his head free of Virgil's grip but found himself unable to do so when Virgil tightened his grasp.

"Don't move," the artist hissed. "For God's sake, Gordy, don't you _dare_ move. Dad will be here. Just give him a minute."

Gordon struggled to shake his head again and then slowly reached up his left hand and grasped onto Virgil's pyjama top. His forehead crinkled and his eyes pooled with tears. "Wan Dad. 'gil. Nee. Nee Dad."

"I know," Virgil whispered. The door swished open behind him and Virgil breathed a sigh of relief as he craned his neck around to see Jeff striding across the room. He carefully untangled Gordon's hand from his top and stepped back so that Jeff could reach the bed.

Gordon let out a pitiful cry when his father sat down beside him. He tried to reach out to hug Jeff but found that he was struggling to coordinate both arms in such a way that he could do so properly. He let out a sob and then burst into tears. "Dad. Din't b'lieve 'gil. Said you comin. You K, not dead."

Jeff leant over Gordon and pressed himself as close to as him he could. He wrapped Gordon's head in his arms and held him tightly. "I'm sorry I wasn't here," he murmured. "Scott came and told me you were waking up and I came as fast as I could. It's the middle of the night, Gords; I was asleep."

Gordon let out a gulp and a high pitched squeak. "Not dead?"

Jeff chuckled slightly and pulled back so he could position himself directly into Gordon's line of vision. "I'm not dead, Gordon. I promise I'm not. Look, you've been very sick and have had a lot of drugs and medications go through you in the past week. Everything probably seems very confusing to you at the moment and you're scared and wobbly and weak. We're all here for you though and we'll be here as long as it takes to get you right again. Everyone's here, for you. Even Andre, look."

Without completely letting go of Gordon, Jeff moved aside so that Gordon could see past him into the room. With Virgil's order of 'don't move' ringing in his ears, Gordon peered down towards his brothers and Doctor Levenson who were clustered around the end of his bed. He blinked slowly and tipped his head fractionally to one side as he scanned the room. "Not evyone," he whispered. "'s no Al. Whe's Al? He K?"

Scott smiled and moved until he was standing beside Gordon but on the opposite side of the bed to their father. "It's the middle of the night, Gords. Al's in bed. I didn't get him up because he'd have only got overexcited and no-one knew exactly when you were going to wake up. You might have stayed asleep for another couple of hours and we'd have all had a ratty, tired Alan on our hands for no reason. I'll go and get him if you want, now that you're awake."

Gordon blinked again and inclined his head just a fraction over to one side. "Let 'im be. See in morning. Grump Alan no fun."

Scott nodded and reached out to gently ruffle Gordon's hair. "You're not wrong there, Little Fish. Grumpy Alan is sooo not fun. You can see the others in the morning too. Tin-Tin, Kyrano and Brains will all be glad to see you awake."

Gordon tipped his head downwards slightly in a tiny approximation of a nod. "K," he replied. "Gran'ma still not back? Ev'one else K?"

Scott nodded again and then moved aside when Andre gently nudged him. The doctor perched on the side of the bed and smiled down at Gordon. "Everyone else is fine," he assured the young man. "…and from what I've heard your grandmother is champing at the bit to get back here. To be on the safe side though it'll probably be best to leave it another couple of days before someone goes to get her. The last thing any of you need is for her to get sick as well."

Despite the comment not being aimed at him, Jeff nodded. "We've got quite enough on our plate with you at the moment Gordon. If Mother stays in Kansas for another few days then that's a few days of peace in which you can start to regain your strength before she gets here and smothers you."

Gordon closed his eyes for a moment and a bashful smile spread across his face. "'m doomed," he said softly. "Smother Gran'ma, smother Scott…dooooomed." Gordon opened his eyes and searched out Scott who had retaken his spot beside Virgil at the end of the bed. Scott smiled and nodded, letting Gordon know that the comment had been taken in the light-hearted manner than it had been meant. Gordon gave another almost-nod and then looked imploringly up at Doctor Levenson. "'m fixed? I walk?"

The doctor smiled and leaned down so he could gently squeeze Gordon's shoulder. "Gordon, you're fixed as far as I'm concerned. Everything's been put back in place, anything that needed rerouting has been rerouted and as far as I can tell it all looks fine. Until we get you up and moving we won't know one hundred percent but I have to say that the prognosis is good."

"Gooood. Thank'u." Gordon smiled softly and his eyelids began to droop. "Tired. Nee sl'p. Dad, stay."

Jeff picked up Gordon's left hand and cradled it in his lap. "I'm not going anywhere. Go to sleep, Gords and I'll be here when you wake up. OK?"

Gordon's eyes fell closed and he found that he no longer had the energy to open them again. "'K. See you'in m'rning. Night ev'one."

And with that, Gordon was gone again. Jeff leaned down, placed a gentle kiss in the middle of his son's forehead and then sat back with a sigh. Without letting go of Gordon's hand he turned to the others and smiled. "Well, that was short-lived but at least he seems to be back with us…at least mostly. Andre, his speech…"

The doctor rested a hand on Jeff's arm. "Was far better than it could have been," he replied. "Gordon's been through a lot and he's heavily loaded with painkillers and muscle relaxant. He managed to have a mostly-coherent conversation with you, Scott and myself and he noticed that Alan was missing. Both those things, in my book, point to a great result for the first trip back to consciousness in nearly a week; especially after such traumatic surgery."

Jeff looked down the bed at Virgil who nodded gently. "Once he wakes up properly we'll work on his dosages. Too much and he'll be slurring or confused, too little and he'll be hurting. The problem with it being Gordon is that he'll say he's not hurting, even if he is and if he's not hurting at all then he'll try and get up."

Andre let out a chuff of laughter and rolled his eyes. "Oh yes, I remember that all too well from the first time I put him back together. I think most of you have realised that he's strapped down beneath the blanket but whoever's with him needs to remember that his arms are free and that he's a devious so and so. He'll more than likely make a bid for freedom before he's physically able to do so and will certainly try it on if he's allowed to become bored. I know you make sure that someone's with him all the time when he's unconscious but it's essential that you do the same when he's awake." The doctor shook himself and chuckled. "Why am I telling you all this? I'm sure you remember what he was like from the last time. Well, he's going to be worse this time because he doesn't have any other injuries to get over. I want him to have been flat on his back for at least a week before we try and get him up and he's not going to like it."

"He's not going to like it one bit," Scott agreed. "…but I'd take him being a right royal pain in the ass over drugged-up or sedated, any day."

"Hear, hear," John murmured with a nod. "…and if it means we have to double-up on Gordy-duty then so be it. I don't mind splitting my time between here and the lab if I'm not out and about, so to speak. I can do most of the Tracy Industries work anywhere I like so it won't affect me to do it in here if I need to."

Jeff nodded and looked between his boys. "Thank you, John. Between us there's plenty enough people for one or two to be in here at all times. If some or all of you have to go out then there'll still be myself, Tin-Tin, Brains or Kyrano to take over and if Mother's coming back in a couple of days then there's yet another person that will be more than happy to sit with Gordon. I think the rest of us might struggle to get a look in for a while when she finally arrives."

Virgil tried very hard to stop himself laughing but just succeeded in snorting loudly instead. This started both Scott and John off and the three of them burst out laughing. Jeff knew exactly why the boys were tickled at the thought of their grandmother coming back and shook his head. "You all think she's going to try and have me installed back in here, don't you? It's not just Gordon who's doomed, is it? I am as well."

He joined in with the boys' laughter for a moment until Scott stopped and looked at his watch. "Look, guys, if we're going to get any more sleep tonight then we all need to go back to bed pretty much straight away. Dad, I assume you're taking Johnny's bed. Virg are you taking the cot again?"

Virgil had barely managed to nod before Andre stood up and stepped forwards. "I'll let you all say your goodnights…or good-mornings and I'll leave you in peace. I'll be back to see everyone later. Jeff, you know where I'll be. If you have any worries about Gordon then just shout and I'll come running. Any worries at all. OK?"

Jeff inclined his head at the doctor and then stood up slowly, taking care not to jostle Gordon too much. He walked around the bed which John had been sleeping in and with Virgil's help pushed it closer to Gordon's until the pillow was more-or-less level with the aquanaut's head. Once that was done, he checked that the others were still present and then wandered into the bathroom and closed the door.

"Johnny," Scott murmured. "You OK? You going to bed?"

John was staring at the bed with a hurt look on his face. "It was me who noticed him waking up and it was me who woke Virgil and then you and the doctor and now I'm being thrown out. It just…it's going to make me sound like Alan but how is that fair? Do you even see it as fair? Because I don't. Sorry if I'm moaning, it's just…" John shrugged.

Scott smiled sadly and rested a caring hand on John's shoulder. "I know it doesn't seem fair but there are only two beds so that's how it's going to have to be. Dad's staying, partly because he wants to, partly because Gordon wants him to and partly just because he's Dad and he can. Virgil's staying for medical reasons in that he's far more adequately trained to deal with anything Gordon might throw at him than either you or me. Dad…oh, there you are. Virg, you get Dad settled and then make sure the pair of you get some rest. Johnny and I'll see you later on."

Jeff sat down on the edge of the bed and looked up at the boys. He quickly noted the disquiet on John's face and turned to survey the room for a possible cause. Realising the problem almost immediately, he sighed. "There's plenty enough floor space if you want to camp out in here, John. Go and get a couple of roll-up mattresses and a sleeping bag from the basement. You too, Scott, if you want to stay."

John turned to look at Scott who grinned. "First one back gets to choose his spot. Loser gets put by the door?"

John glanced around the room and nodded. "Fair enough. We going now?"

Scott stepped through the door and waited for John to join him. "You ready? OK? Go."

Scott let out a laugh and shot away down the corridor with his brother in hot pursuit. They ran through the house and eventually squeezed through the basement door side by side. Scott, who had been in the basement with Jeff just a couple of days before, remembered exactly where the camping gear was stored and grabbed what he needed before John had the chance. He got out of the room in front of the blonde and skidded to a half in front of the sickroom door with a triumphant but quietly whispered 'whoop'.

John pulled up beside him and rolled his eyes. "I was never going to win that one, was I?"

"Nope," Scott shook his head and smiled. "Shh," he whispered and then leant forwards and slid open the door to the sickroom. The room was quiet and Scott realised that Virgil and Jeff had both retired to bed. Virgil untangled a hand from his bedcovers, put a finger to his lips and nodded his head towards the bed where Jeff lay.

Scott slunk into the room and peered, first at the softly snoring Jeff and then at Gordon. He nodded silently and turned round to beckon John into the room, only to realise that his brother had followed him in and had started to lay out the bedrolls. Between them the two brothers quietly made their beds, with Scott settling at the foot of Jeff's bed and John in his pre-arranged 'losers' spot by the door.

After a round of whispered 'goodnight's' the brothers fell quiet, lulled to sleep by the gentle sound of their father's breathing and the steady beeping of Gordon's heart monitor.


	21. Chapter 21

~#~ (Chapter 21)

Several hours later Alan was up, dressed and wandering around the house pondering the lack of any immediate family members. Armed with a mug of coffee the youngest Tracy boy ambled slowly towards the sickroom and slid the door open.

Luckily for everyone sleeping inside, Alan had an uncharacteristic flash of forward thinking and paused before blundering into the room. He spotted the sleeping bag on the floor at his feet and leaned over the occupant to discover that it was John. The elder blonde boy was curled up in the bag, fast asleep with only the top of his forehead and his mop of golden hair on view.

Alan shrugged to himself and stepped carefully over his brother and into the sickroom. He stood in the centre of the room, took a sip of his coffee and took stock of everyone. Virgil, he noticed with a grin, had kicked the covers off the cot and was lying in an untidy heap in the middle of his bed by the window. The bedcovers lay on the floor beside him and Alan chuckled quietly to himself when he saw that the artist had managed to lose one of his socks at some point during the night.

Scott was lying flat at the foot of Jeff's bed looking, for all intents and purposes, like a shaggy, heavily bristled guard dog. He was lying flat on his back with an arm across his eyes and was half in and half out of his sleeping bag, snoring softly. Jeff, in complete contrast to his sons, was neatly tucked into his bed. He, like the other three, was fast asleep and his breaths were deep and even. His bed looked barely disturbed and Alan frowned as he tried to decide whether it was a good or bad thing that it was still tidy.

His musing over the state of Jeff's bedcovers was broken when his eyes strayed from his father onto his final brother. Gordon was lying quietly in his bed with his eyes at half-mast and he was watching Alan with a dopey smile on his face. Alan returned the smile and crept nearer in order to speak to Gordon without disturbing the others.

"Hey," he whispered. "Man, it's good to see you awake. How are you feeling?"

Gordon reached up and clumsily patted Alan on the arm. "Been better," he whispered. "…and worse. All here?"

Alan frowned for a moment and then pulled back, looked around the room again and nodded. "Everyone's here. Virgil's over there," he pointed to the window. "Scott and Dad are behind me and John's turned himself into a big blue draft excluder over by the door."

A look of confusion crossed Gordon's face. "Draft 'cluder?"

"Excluder," Alan repeated. "Hang on, wait there a minute and I'll show you."

Alan pulled his phone from his pocket and crept back across the room. Silently he used the phone to take a picture of John and then took it back and held it up to Gordon.

Gordon grinned. "John slug. Why?"

Alan paused again. "Why?" he repeated. "You're asking me? How would I know? It looks like everyone's been playing a game of musical beds during the night and that someone forgot to send me an invite. How long's everyone been in here and _why_ are they here? Did you wake up before now or something? Like at some point during the night?"

There was a long silence as Gordon tried to pick out even the vaguest of memories that would tell him if he'd been conscious before opening his eyes and spotting Alan. "'member something," he murmured. "'gil said no move. 'gil tell off, said Dad…" Gordon's forehead crumpled slightly and his eyes became moister than they had been. "Dad, Al. Where's Dad?"

Alan stepped aside so that Gordon could see Jeff, who was still peacefully sleeping in the other bed. "I already told you he's here," he murmured. "…and he's fine. The bruising's barely visible now and he's managing to get about without too much trouble. He's a bit slower than normal but Brains, Virgil and Doctor Levenson are all keeping their eyes on him."

"Bruising?" Gordon replied. "Hurt?"

Alan nodded. "Yeah. He…um…he…"

"He fell." Scott's whispered reply sounded loud in the quiet room as he rolled over and then clambered out of his sleeping bag. He climbed to his feet, crossed the room and flicked his hand at Alan to tell the blonde to get out of his way. Alan rolled his eyes and wandered around to the other side of Gordon. Scott then perched on the edge of Gordon's bed. "He fell, Gords. That's all. There's nothing to worry about. OK?"

Gordon clearly wasn't convinced but wisely chose to remain silent. After a short while he blinked hard and sighed. "Doctor Levenson? Fixed. What 'appened? Why fix?"

Scott sighed. "You fell apart," he replied softly. "With the virus and the coughing and…everything, you literally fell apart." Scott looked up at the two scan pictures that were pinned to the wall above Gordon's head and realised that his brother had no way of seeing them from where he was lying. "Brains' idea was good, Al," he muttered. "…but I've just found a very serious flaw in his plan."

Gordon frowned up at his brother. "Not making sense. What on about?"

Scott stood up, leaned over Gordon and gently pulled the scans off the wall. He turned around and perched back on the bed beside Gordon but this time facing the same way as his brother. He held the 'before' scan up so that Gordon could easily see it. "Exhibit A." he murmured. "…or 'before'."

Gordon squinted at the scan for a moment until Alan realised the problem and leant over to switch on one of the tiny reading lights above his head. Gordon blinked hard several times and then attempted another look at the picture which Scott was patiently holding in front of him. "Wow," he whispered. "Mess."

Scott nodded gently and smiled. "Yes it was. This though…" he laid the 'before' scan down and held up the 'after' shot. "…this looks much better, don't you agree?"

"Better," Gordon repeated. "Walk? Doctor Levenson said walk. I 'member."

Scott nodded again. "He said that everything was fixed, as far as he could tell but that until he got you up and moving, he wasn't going to know for certain and no, you're not going to be getting up any time soon."

There was a rustle behind Scott as Jeff stretched himself and then swung his legs over the edge of the bed. "You have another week before Doctor Levenson will even contemplate unstrapping you," he said softly. "..but you won't be alone and we'll do our very best to keep you amused."

A ghost of a smile crossed Gordon's face as he slowly rolled his head towards his father. "An' I keep Gran'ma amused."

Jeff smiled back and reached up to rub his neck. "Exactly, although as I said earlier, she won't be back for a few days. Either Virgil, Johnny or Scott can go an fetch her. Alan, you and Tin-Tin started all of this so if you don't mind, I'd rather keep you both here."

Alan blushed slightly. "I hadn't thought of it like that. Sorry for breaking you, Gordy. You too, Dad."

Gordon attempted to reach over and pat Alan's arm. The young blonde worked out what his brother was trying to do and leant towards him so he didn't need to reach so far. Gordon's lack of coordination meant that he couldn't react quickly enough to the movement though and he ended up poking Alan in the eye instead.

Unable to stop himself, Alan yelped loudly and then clamped his hand across his mouth before he could let out another sound. Virgil let out a loud snort, rolled over without waking and then fell quiet again. Scott and Alan turned their attentions to John and frowned at one another when they realised that he was no longer slumbering by the door.

"Where'd he go?" Alan asked. "He was there a few minutes ago. I know he was."

~#~

The door to the sickroom swished quietly open and John, wearing his usual garishly-patterned dressing gown, stepped through, carrying a tray of plates piled high with pancakes and toast. He was followed by Kyrano who was holding another tray, this one loaded with coffee, mugs, a jug and a sugar bowl.

Scott hurriedly cleared the over-bed table at the end of Jeff's bed so that John and Kyrano could put the trays down. He nodded approvingly when he realised that Kyrano's tray also held some weak-looking fruit juice contained in a bottle with a sports cap. He plucked the bottle from the tray and stepped back over towards Gordon. "Here," he said softly. "You remember this from last time? Take it slow. Sip it and don't choke yourself."

Gordon gave a fraction of a nod and held his hand out for the bottle. Scott helped him to grip it and then supported most of the bottle's weight while his brother took a drink.

Gordon sighed appreciatively and then rolled his eyes when he realised that everyone was watching him. "Good," he murmured. "Drink good. You drink. All. Where 'gil?"

"He's still asleep, Gordon," Jeff chuckled. "I swear that boy could sleep through anything. Alan, you're nearest. Do the honours."

Alan looked from his father to Virgil and back again. "You want me to wake him up?"

Jeff nodded. "That was the general idea, yes. Get him up or he'll miss out on the pancakes."

"If you say so." Alan shrugged and then moved across to the cot and pinched Virgil in the centre of his bare foot. Virgil twitched slightly but didn't wake so Alan repeated the move but this time with his fingernail pressed into the sole of Virgil's foot as well as his thumb.

Virgil whimpered and tried to crawl away from the annoyance that was his little brother but soon ran out of cot and for the second time that morning, found himself in a heap on the floor.

He sat up, rubbed his right eye with the base of his hand and then looked up to find a grinning Alan holding a hand out in his direction. He grabbed the hand, hauled himself to his feet and very deliberately knocked Alan's knees out from beneath him so that the younger Tracy fell into an ungainly heap on the cot. He looked across at Jeff, winked and leant down to pull Alan back to his feet. "Consider that payback," he whispered and then looked in the direction that Alan nodded and noticed that Gordon was awake.

Virgil strode away across the room, hopping slightly as he pulled off his one remaining sock. "Hey," he murmured as he stopped beside his brother's bed. "How long have you been awake?"

"Long. Ev'y one else sleep. Al came say 'Hi', then 'cott, Dad, John. Coffee, 'gil, drink. Pancakes."

Virgil turned around to find Kyrano holding a mug out towards him. He took a sip, sighed appreciatively and then sat down on the bed, level with Gordon's knees. Scott handed him a plate and then moved back up the bed to help Gordon take another drink.


	22. Chapter 22

~#~ (Chapter 22)

The family remained in the sickroom with Gordon and the morning passed quietly. Brains appeared just before lunch and Doctor Levenson followed around ten minutes later. Jeff let everyone talk for a while and then sent John, Scott, Virgil, Alan and Brains up into the house to eat in order to give Andre time to sit with Gordon and talk through exactly what had happened to him, what he had been able to do to rectify it and how long he expected everything to take to heal up.

Gordon sighed heavily after everything had been explained to him. "Want pool not bed. Seven days. Long."

"I know," Andre murmured. "…and it's going to seem worse because you haven't got all the other injuries to take your mind off everything that you're not being allowed to do. You have your family around you though, as well as Brains, Tin-Tin and Kyrano and you're going to be recuperating in your own personal piece of paradise rather than the concrete-and-glass jungle that surrounds my hospital. You are in a much better situation than you were last time, Gordon and you need to focus all your thoughts on that."

"Surely it's worth a week of lying flat and still if it means that you can spend the next few years up, about and completely ambulatory," Jeff added softly. "You don't want to risk damaging something by pushing yourself before everything's settled down."

"S'pose." Gordon let out another long sigh and a frown formed on his forehead. "What if happen 'gain?"

Jeff leaned over from his spot on the chair beside Gordon's bed. He carded his fingers through his son's hair and shook his head. "Don't try to second guess something that may never happen, Gordon. If something goes wrong in the future then we'll deal with it then. Then, OK, and not before."

Andre nodded. "Your father's a smart man, Gordon. Listen to what he's saying and take the words to heart. You beat the odds once and you're showing all the signs that you're going to beat them a second time. If something unfortunate does happen and you have to beat those odds a third, fourth or even a fifth time then I have the utmost confidence that you'll do just that. You're one of those people who have the presence of mind to be able to do exactly what you want; no matter how bleak the outlook for success looked before you started."

Gordon's eyes filled with tears. "Hurt," he croaked.

Andre looked worried. "With the level of medication you're on you should be able to feel very little at all. What hurts? Where? Give me a scale of one to ten."

Gordon gently rocked his head from side to side. "No. No pain now. No wan' pain 'gain. Hurt. Scared."

Jeff let out a relieved breath and leant in close to Gordon. "Shhh," he whispered. "Shhh, now. Don't get yourself all worked up, that won't help anybody. This may never happen again. I pray it won't but if it does then it's like I just said, we'll deal with it then. Not now, not before but…'if' OK. _If_, Gords, _'if' _not_ 'when'_."

Gordon blinked hard and unsuccessfully tried to clear the tears from his eyes. "Hurt," he cried. "Hurt lot. No like. No wan' 'gain."

Jeff nodded. "The slightest sign, Gords. If there's even the slightest sign of anything going wrong then talk to me. We can get you to Andre…get you checked straight away so that we can put an end to a small problem before it becomes a big one. No self-medicating. No keeping quiet because you think you're being a trouble or a burden or…whatever. None of it. Talk to me or Scott, John, Virgil or Brains…"

"Or me," Andre offered quietly. "Gordon, my door will always be open for you. No matter the time of day or night, I will always take your call." He paused for a moment and then laughed softly. "Unless I'm in theatre, of course, in which case leave a message but be assured that I'll call you back just as soon as I possibly can."

Gordon sucked in a shaky breath and nodded gently. "Thank you," he whispered. "…and no sel-mediting. Not good. No work an'way."

Jeff chuckled. "I think that had more to do with the severity of what was wrong with you, rather than the fact that you were choosing the drugs yourself. Andre and myself have discussed this at length, Gordon and nothing you could have taken orally would have done more than just take the edge off the discomfort you must have been feeling. Brains could have helped, to a point, if you'd seen fit to talk to him but in truth you needed more help than even he was qualified to give you. You knew that though. Somewhere in that confused and drug-addled brain of yours, you knew that Brains couldn't fix you completely. Virgil told me that you told him you didn't want 'anyone else' working on your back. That tells me that you at least knew that something was seriously wrong with you…something that only Andre could fix, even if you didn't have enough common sense left in your head by that point to know what to do with that information."

Gordon had the grace to blush slightly and turned his gaze away from his father. "Don't 'member that," he said quietly. "Just 'member hurt. Lot, lot hurt. And you. Died. 'member that. You."

Jeff rolled his eyes and shook his head. "We've been through this before, Gords. This morning, remember?"

"Know," Gordon said, rather vaguely and it was only the tiniest nod of his head that led Jeff to understand that his son was saying 'I know' rather than saying 'No, I don't remember'.

"Good," he whispered. "I'm not intending to go anywhere, anytime soon, OK?" He waited for Gordon to nod again and then gently cupped his cheek. "What else do you remember about that day? Do you think you can you tell us?"

Gordon thought hard for a moment. He clenched his left hand into a fist and slowly raised it until it was resting on his forehead. He pursed his teeth, huffed several times and then tipped his head so he could look directly at his father. "Don't 'member," he said softly. "'member John, 'gil, Al, Four. They out, I not. Coffee. Pain. Hurt. You. Don't…don't 'member more. Why? Why no 'member more?"

Gordon knocked his fist hard against his forehead several times before Jeff caught hold of the hand and pulled it safely against his chest. "Gordon stop it and calm down," he said firmly. "You can't remember because you were drugged up to your eyeballs. Virgil went through your room in an attempt to work out what you'd taken and he's almost certain that the tablets he found on your bed were the ones that caused the problem. When you left me to go and make the coffees you were struggling to walk but you had your cane with you when you came back. At some point between leaving me and rejoining me you must have gone to your room, collected the cane and taken the tablets before returning to the kitchen. Does that sound right? Does it sound familiar?"

Gordon wriggled his captured hand until Jeff held it in a more comfortable position. Gordon gave the barest of smiles, nodded and then closed his eyes as he tried to replay more of that fateful day.


	23. Chapter 23

~#~ (Chapter 23)

Gordon managed to behave himself and remain relatively upbeat until the morning of his fifth day of being confined to his bed. He still had tubes taking fluids into and out of his body but was managing to drink plenty and was eating small, bland meals at frequent intervals. "Virg," he murmured. "Check my feet again."

Virgil gave a light-hearted huff and clambered off the chair beside Gordon's bed. He moved to the foot of the bed, uncovered Gordon's feet and set about gently massaging his toes. "I know you're nervous about getting out of bed but your feet are fine, Gords," he said softly. "They haven't been tingling again, have they?"

Virgil waited for Gordon's gentle head-shake before continuing. "Your fingers were tingling for a while too and you're not making the same fuss about them."

Gordon lifted his hands up in front of him and formed them into fists. He released the fists and spread his fingers wide before balling them up again. Virgil watched as the aquanaut repeated this several times over and then dropped his hands to his sides with an explosive exhalation of breath. "My hands are working fine but even if they weren't I…they…it wouldn't stop me walking. It'd stop me doing other things but I'd still be able to run, jump...swim…"

Gordon fell quiet and Virgil smiled at him sadly. "Flex," he said softly and then smiled again when Gordon obediently curled his toes against his brother's fingers. "…and stretch." Gordon uncurled his feet and with a grunt stretched them towards Virgil as much as he was able. "They're fine. Now stop worrying and talk to me. Tell me…" Virgil looked skywards as he frantically tried to think of a subject that would completely divert Gordon's attention away from his situation for anywhere up to a couple of hours. "Tell me about…um…ah, wait a minute, let me get something to write on."

Virgil tucked Gordon's feet back under the blanket and hurried into the office. He returned a moment later brandishing a ring-bound notebook and a pen and sat down beside Gordon. "Tell me about the changes you were thinking about making on Four's front lighting trough."

~#~

Doctor Levenson returned the next day, having flown back home for a couple of days while Gordon recuperated with his family. Scott gave him clearance to land but asked him to come to a halt halfway down the runway and not to shut down the plane's engines. The doctor did as he'd been told and then watched in awe as the cavernous mouth of Thunderbird 2's silo opened up directly in front of him.

"You're free to proceed inside now," Scott announced over the radio. "Welcome back, Doctor."

Despite being alone in the plane, Andre nodded. "It's good to be back," he replied. "How's Gordon this morning? He was asleep earlier when I spoke to your father. Jefferson mentioned that you'd all had a very disturbed night."

"Disturbed," Scott scoffed. "That's a…gentle word for it. A completely sleepless night would be a better description. Look, Doctor Levenson, do you think we could discuss this face to face, rather than over the radio. I'd feel happier speaking somewhere that there's no possibility Alan could overhear. The reason for that will become clear when I explain. For now, please come in, park up and remain in the plane until the hangar door has completely closed."

~#~

Doctor Levenson parked his little red plane at the side of the cavern and filled in his flight log while waiting for the door to close. Once it was sealed he climbed from the plane and jumped back slightly when he found himself coming face to face with John.

"Scott was concerned that he may have worried you," the blonde Tracy murmured. "…and he sent me to reassure you that everything is alright. We're all a bit short on sleep; there was a call out last night and we had some complications. I'm afraid nerves are a little on the shaky side today."

Andre nodded and patted him on the arm. "I understand, John. From what I've been told, Scott's taken on a lot of extra responsibilities in the past few weeks and he's not looking like he's going to give them up any time soon. I think we can allow him a little overreaction every now and then."

"Oh, it wasn't that much of an overreaction, if I'm going to be totally honest," John replied as he motioned to the doctor to head up into the house. "And he's not coddling Alan, before you think that. Al was part and parcel of why the rest of us got no sleep last night but it wasn't really his fault and he doesn't know the state that Gordon got himself into so we'd appreciate it if you didn't let on that anything was wrong."

Andre nodded again. "If that's your wish then I won't mention anything to Alan. The boy tends to avoid me unless I approach him directly so it shouldn't be too hard."

John chuckled. "Tin-Tin's taking him to one of the coves for a picnic lunch so he'll out of the way for a while. She knows what went on last night, by the way, so you're fine speaking to her, just not to Al. I'll let Scott explain properly in a minute. Dad's asleep in the sickroom with Gordon, in case you wondered where he's got to. Grandma's watching over the pair of them."

~#~

John and the doctor wandered through the house and eventually ended up at Jeff's office. Andre was in front of John and gasped quietly as he stepped through the office door. John gently pushed him a little further into the room and then rolled his eyes when he caught a glimpse of his brother.

Scott had clearly reached the end of his resistance and had fallen asleep at the desk with his head resting on the piece of paperwork that he'd been reading. John shook his head, silently motioned to Andre to back out of the room again and then opened a cupboard, pulled out a blanket and wrapped it around his brother.

That done he followed the doctor from the room. "I doubt he'll be comfortable enough to stay there for long," he whispered. "…but a little rest is better than none at all."

Andre nodded. "That is very true and well worth the discomfort that Scott's neck is bound to give him when he wakes up."

John chuckled. "Also true. You know, it's almost a shame that Tin-Tin won't be around when he wakes up. He's going to need her services as a masseuse. Nothing can sort out random aches and pains like Tin-Tin's fingers. She's a godsend where Gordon's back is concerned in that respect too. There have been occasions where he's twisted wrong or tripped or…something and he's been stiff, sore and just generally miserable. A couple of sessions under Tin-Tin's gentle ministrations and he's as right as rain again. He always apologises to everyone afterwards as well, he'll never understand that we'd never see him as a burden...no matter how broken he was."

John shook himself. "Listen to me, rambling on and I haven't even offered you a coffee yet. How about you join me in the kitchen and I'll go through everything that Scott was going to tell you before he fell asleep on us."

Andre smiled and motioned to John to lead the way. "A coffee would be good and a slice of your grandmother's lemon drizzle cake, if she's had time to make it."


	24. Chapter 24

~#~ (Chapter 24)

Ruth had arrived back on the island on the morning that Andre was due to leave and had promised the doctor that she'd have one of her 'famous' lemon drizzle cakes ready for him when he returned. The old woman had held true to her promise and had managed to keep the cake intact and out of Scott's grasp long enough for Andre to make the first cut in the moist sponge. He and John then sat in the kitchen while Kyrano fussed around them and John quietly explained what had happened the previous afternoon.

~#~

"So you see, it wasn't entirely Gordon's fault that we didn't get much sleep last night and it wasn't Alan's either. Gordon was already stressed because he knew that Alan was out in Four but when Al grazed that underwater ledge and took out the starboard engine pod…" John shrugged. "Alan freaked out when he realised that he'd lost most of his forward propulsion and that he was stuck underwater with no way to surface. He paged everybody's watches in a complete panic asking what he should do and unfortunately Gordon heard the call through Dad's watch and flipped out. It's the only time since he's woken up that he's fought the straps holding him to the bed and he _really_ fought them. The only reason he didn't manage to get them undone and injure himself trying to get up was because Tin-Tin snuck some extra drugs into his IV while Brains and myself struggled to hold him down."

John shrugged again and sighed. "She didn't give him enough to knock him out, just to calm him down but the result was that he became weepy. Dad, myself, Tin-Tin, Brains and Kyrano all ended up sitting with him while Virgil, bless his soul, kept up a running commentary of exactly what he was doing to retrieve Alan and Four. I think he realised that Gordon would have heard Alan's shout and guessed that he'd be upset that both his baby and his brother were in trouble." John chuckled and then stopped and shuddered. "I'm just glad that Virg had opted to take Two rather than leaving me to fly her as there's no way I could have manoeuvred Two the way he did. She's a cow to control without the pod in place but Virg had her podless and hovering less than a metre from the ocean's surface while he singlehandedly fished around beneath the waves for Four. He got her in Two's grabs and then somehow managed to get properly airborne again. He located the pod, got it loaded back inside Two's belly without losing his grip on Four and then slowly but surely made his way back here with the sub tucked as tight against Two's hull as the grabs would allow. Alan was green by the time he got back here and Dad ordered him straight to bed. Gordon found a second wind once he knew that Four was back on the island and he knew that Alan had survived with nothing more uncomfortable than a bad case of travel-sickness. He made another bid for freedom where he attempted to get up to see the damage to Four and then once we finally persuaded him to stay put he fell asleep, only to find himself plagued by horrific nightmares."

John downed the last of his coffee and then stood up, rinsed the mug out in the sink and put it in the dishwasher. He added the two cake plates and Andre's mug before shutting the door and turning back to the doctor. "I catnapped on and off, as did Virgil and Brains but I don't think either Dad or Scott had any sleep at all. Daylight seemed to finally put an end to Gordon's nightmares and he fell properly asleep just after dawn. Dad couldn't keep going any longer and followed him to the land of nod and you've…" John chuckled and nodded towards the door. "…well, you've seen what happened to Scott."

"I certainly have," Andre agreed with a smile. "I hope that Brains and Virgil took the opportunity of a quiet moment to catch up on some sleep as well. I am going to need to speak to one or the other of them about your brother at some point though. I'll need to know what they gave him and in what doses before I attempt any assessment on Gordon's capabilities."

John nodded. "I understand. Both of them rested a little earlier on but you actually passed them on the way up here without realising it." John smiled at the doctor's obvious confusion. "Four's our only underwater vessel so we can't risk having her out of action any longer than absolutely necessary. Brains and Virgil are working on her in Pod 4 at the far end of the hangar. When Virgil got back here he had to put Four down on the runway to let Alan out. He put the pod down on the tarmac, opened the door and then Brains climbed into Four and got her back into the pod. Virg dropped Two back down over him, picked up the pod and put it, Two and Four, to bed. He spent the rest of the night with us in the sickroom, rested up for a bit and then moved downstairs to make a start on the repairs."

Andre nodded. "That's understandable. If Four is your only sub although…" The doctor paused and pursed his lips before continuing. "Do you not have some sort of contingency plan? For if something goes wrong? Like yesterday, for instance? Alan could have died down there under the ocean or something similar could happen to Gordon. What then?"

John lifted his hands to his face and tiredly rubbed his eyes. "You could say the same about any of the machines," he replied. "Three could explode on take-off or burn up on re-entry. Five could be hit by a meteor, Four could be holed and sink below the waves without trace or Two could be shot out of the sky by an overzealous naval captain. Doctor, we all know the risks but we couldn't do what we do if we spent our time thinking of the 'what ifs'. We know the dangers, we know the risks and we know everything that's been done to reduce them. The equipment is thoroughly checked and serviced between rescues. Brains is constantly updating and renewing everything to ensure our gear is the strongest and best it can possibly be and we trust him. Can you understand that?"

Andre had a thoughtful look on his face as he nodded. He climbed to his feet and motioned towards the door. "I'm sorry if that touched a nerve and yes, I do understand. Shall we take a wander and see if anyone's awake downstairs. I'd like to thank your grandmother for her fabulous cake and I want to take a look at Gordon's records for the past few days."


	25. Chapter 25

~#~ (Chapter 25)

During the afternoon Gordon was poked and prodded and in the early evening Doctor Levenson finally freed him from his remaining tubes.

Andre, Virgil and Brains spent an inordinate amount of time talking Gordon and the others through everything that was going to happen the next morning. The aquanaut absorbed what he was told, asked a couple of questions and then lay quietly in his bed and let the family carry on talking around him.

As the evening drew on he became antsy and unmistakably nervous so Jeff and Scott offered to spend the night in the sickroom with him, along with the ever-present Virgil. John opted for sleeping in his own room, partly so that Scott could use both of the camping mattresses and partly so that Alan wasn't spending another night alone in the main section of the house.

~#~

The next morning Gordon ordered Jeff and Scott out of the sickroom so that Virgil could help him use the bedpan. Virgil then helped his brother change into a pair of swimming trunks and a set of smart, rust-coloured pyjamas before gently rolling a sock onto both of Gordon's feet.

"You ready?" he asked softly. "Gords?"

Gordon tilted his head to one side in order to see his brother better. "Bit uneasy," he admitted. "The moment of truth is nearly here. What if I can't balance? What if my legs don't hold me? What if…"

Virgil gently rubbed one of the aquanaut's feet. "Don't," he whispered. "Don't think like that. Think of the hot tub that Tin-Tin and Kyrano are going to help you walk to. Think of the pool, Gords. _Your_ pool. You've been impatiently waiting to get back in there for weeks and now you've got just one more day to wait. Hot tub today, pool tomorrow and the lovely Tin-Tin at your beck and call for the next week or so. What more could a guy want?"

Gordon grinned devilishly. "You're a bad, bad boy, Virgil Tracy but I'd have to admit that I am kind of looking forward to spending the week in the company of a good looking female. Susan was a great nurse but…." He paused and shuddered theatrically. "No. Just…no."

"She may not have been your type but she _was_ good at her job," Virgil replied with a smile. "You weren't the easiest or most cheerful of patients at the time but she took everything you threw at her and got you back on your feet so you could come home. You owe her a lot."

Gordon nodded. "I know," he agreed. "…and I'm still in touch with her, you know. She got married last year and fell pregnant a couple of months ago. The baby's due sometime around Christmas."

Virgil nodded this time. "A Sagittarian like Grandma or a Capricorn like Dad. Good, strong signs, both of them." He patted Gordon's foot. "Are you ready for me to let everyone back in now? And I do mean 'everybody' this time, bearing in mind that Tin-Tin and Kyrano are going to be supporting you. Doctor Levenson'll be here by default, Brains will want to be here to keep an eye on you and I can't see you managing to keep any of the family out unless we…they…we get called out very soon."

"Will you stay with me?" Gordon asked quietly. "Even if we get a call? Get Scott to send John and Alan or something but I need you here."

Virgil nodded again. "I'll stay," he promised. "Although if the other day's debacle is anything to go by then you might prefer me to go if Al has to take Four out again. Unless, that is, you want to risk becoming Jeff Tracy's youngest son and heir."

Gordon closed his eyes for a moment and swallowed hard. "How is she?"

"Four?" Virgil queried, even though he knew exactly what his brother was asking. "Brains and I have been working on her. I'd class her as bent now, rather than broken, which she definitely was before. She's useable but I will get her properly fixed for you. I can't guarantee whether that will be before or after you show her to Doctor Levenson though; that'll all depend on time, rescues and when you're going to be up to taking the doctor on his tour. Now, you managed to completely divert me again, you little red-headed pain in the butt. Are you ready to get back on your feet?" Gordon nodded. "Are you ready for me to let everyone in?" Gordon shrugged this time, sighed and then nodded. "Good. Now don't forget that you're not strapped down anymore…and don't move."

Virgil turned and took a couple of steps towards the door before Gordon quietly called him back. He backtracked until he was standing level with the bed and found himself being pulled down into a hug. "Thank you, Virg," Gordon whispered. "It's bound to be too hectic later so I wanted to say it now. Thank you."

Virgil gently returned the hug and then straightened up and ruffled Gordon's hair. "Any time, Little Fish," he murmured. "Any time."

~#~

As Virgil had predicted, everyone in the house appeared within minutes of him sliding the sickroom door open. Doctor Levenson performed some final checks on Gordon and then, with the help of both Virgil and Scott, gently slid the aquanaut to the edge of the bed, swung his legs over the side and stood him up.

Once Gordon was balanced, Virgil took most of his weight so that Scott could slip out from under his brother's arm. Kyrano replaced Scott and then took up Gordon's weight to allow Tin-Tin to swap places with Virgil. This was a pre-arranged move due to both Kyrano and his daughter being shorter in stature than the aquanaut. Their lower height meant there would be less stress on Gordon's arms and upper body while they were supporting him and meant less stretching of his back would take place during the important first few hours out of bed.

Gordon clung to Tin-Tin and her father and let out a long, uneven breath. "You are trembling, Master Gordon?" Kyrano murmured. "Are you well?"

"I'm fine,"Gordon replied with a nod. "Bit of a head rush but…fine. Give me a moment, I need to centre myself."

~#~

Gordon closed his eyes and stood for a short while, breathing slowly and deeply through his mouth. He took stock of the sensations, both new and remembered, that came with standing upright and revelled in the feel of his sock-clad feet against the sickroom's cool, tiled floor. He let out an explosive breath and smiled when Tin-Tin jumped against his side. "Sorry," he whispered. "I didn't mean to startle you. I…I think I'm ready now. Let's get this done, shall we? Maybe get to the end of the bed and see how we go from there?"

~#~

The progress towards the foot of the bed was steady but excruciatingly slow and Gordon was visibly shaking by the time Doctor Levenson held up a hand to stop him.

"Stop, Gordon," the doctor ordered softly. "You're doing really well but I want you to take a rest so I can take a look at you. Will you do that for me?"

Gordon nodded. "Drink," he rasped. "Anyone?"

Scott and Virgil both made a grab for Gordon's sports bottle and ended up engaged in a brief tussle. Scott ultimately came away victorious and strode over to help Gordon take a drink. The aquanaut's arms were restricted due to being wrapped around Tin-Tin and Kyrano's shoulders so Scott held the sports cap to his brother's lips and tipped the bottle so that the juice could flow freely.

Gordon drank greedily before gently pushing the bottle away with his chin. "Better," he sighed. "Thanks, Scott. Virg, you should know better than trying to beat Scott when he's in full-on smother-mode. What were you thinking?"

Virgil chuckled at the hint of a scowl that crossed Scott's face. The eldest Tracy boy knew that Gordon was joking but he'd been teased about his 'Smother Scott' attitude for so many years that his reaction was purely automatic.

"Don't antagonise your brother, Gordon," Jeff admonished quietly. "He is the one with your drink, after all."

Scott held the bottle up and wiggled it. "That's right, I am and once the doctor says that you're good to go you can come over here and get it from me." He paused, looked around for a moment and then pulled the chair out from beside Gordon's bed and deposited it in the centre of the room. He then sat down, rested the drink bottle on his knee and raised his eyebrows at Doctor Levenson.

The doctor rolled his eyes and stepped around Gordon until he was standing behind him. He lifted the aquanaut's pyjama top, gently palpated the skin of his back and nodded approvingly. "Assuming you're not too tired I see no reason why you can't go over there and get that drink," he murmured. "…but take your helpers with you, I don't want you walking alone yet. OK?"

Gordon nodded. "I understand." He then grinned and motioned forwards with both hands. "Kyranos, ho. Onward."

~#~

Gordon, Tin-Tin and Kyrano pulled up in front of Scott who smiled and then held the bottle just out of Gordon's reach and wiggled it.

Gordon looked from his brother to the bottle and then back again. "Scott?"

"I said you were going to have to come and get it," he said softly. "That's not just getting over here, it's getting _it_. Come on, Little Fish. Come here and get it."

Gordon shuffled around slightly and cast a worried look at the assembled family who were dotted around the room. Grandma, who had tucked herself under John's arm, was watching him anxiously and Alan was standing beside their father with a worried frown marring his face. Jeff himself looked calm and smiled supportively as Gordon cast his gaze in his direction. "Go on," he whispered. "You can do it."

Gordon looked doubtful but turned back to gaze at his brother. He breathed deeply several times and then quickly released his grip on Kyrano and leaned forwards to snatch the bottle. He clasped it tightly to his chest with his free hand and used his other arm to cling onto Tin-Tin as if his life depended on it.

Tin-Tin wrapped herself around the aquanaut in order to offer him more support and gently helped him to stay upright. She then rested her head against his shoulder while he took another lengthy drink from the newly-captured bottle.

"Well done, Gords," Scott offered quietly. "I knew you could do it. Just one more short walk and you can have a long soak in the tub. I'd bet that sounds pretty good around about now."

Gordon nodded. "It sure does. I'd happily settle for just 'wet' and 'clean' at the moment but the thought of wet, clean, warm and comfortably relaxed...that sounds heavenly. Someone's going have to stay with me though 'cos I'm feeling drowsy just thinking about it. I don't want to fall asleep and drown in there; I'd never live it down."

Scott chuckled. "You may be up and somewhat ambulatory but you haven't been certified as fit to work yet. There'll be someone with you for the foreseeable future, like there has been for the past week or so. You'll more than likely be trying to get rid of us before we're ready to leave you in peace."

Gordon leaned forwards slightly as his brother ruffled his hair. He then passed the drink bottle back to Scott and held his arm out to Kyrano. "Pit stop complete," he murmured. "Next stop, the door. Someone remind me why we put the hot tub so far away from the sickroom."

"It's as near as it was possible to make it," Scott replied as he clambered off the chair and dragged it out of Gordon's way. "You know that as well as anybody. You're doing well, Gords. You're nearly halfway there. Just half a room and the corridor and you're there. OK?"

"I know that's all it is," Gordon groaned. "…but you can't imagine just how far that seems at the moment. Will you meet me at the door?"

Scott patted his brother gently on the shoulder and moved to stand in the doorway. He looked past Gordon, Tin-Tin and Kyrano towards Jeff who had slung his arm around Alan's shoulders. Scott had been the one to coax, urge and finally bully Gordon into accepting Susan's help to get back to his feet in the months following his hydrofoil accident and he fully intended to support him every step of the way again.

Jeff nodded silently. He had been with Gordon throughout his original recovery but had found himself struggling when it came to his son's rehabilitation. Gordon had often cried out in pain and anguish and had swung between bouts of depression and fits of rage when his body refused to cooperate with his wishes. The paternal side of Jeff had warred with his more practical side in that he knew the pain was temporary but at the time he would have done just about anything to spare his son the agony that he was going through.

Scott smiled tightly. He'd had many a late-night talk with his father about his thoughts and feelings during Gordon's recovery and guessed that the same worries and fears would have raised themselves again. Jeff nodded again and pulled Alan tighter against his side. Alan didn't totally understand the silent conversation between his eldest brother and his father but realised that Jeff was in need of comfort and snuggled close in beside him.


	26. Chapter 26

~#~ (Chapter 26)

Gordon progressed from the painstakingly slow, double-chaperoned walk to the hot tub on the first day out of bed through a couple of days of single-chaperoning and finished the week ambling slowly around the house leaning heavily on a pair of elbow crutches. From the second day onwards he'd been having twice-daily sessions in the pool, completing slow lengths in calm, unhurried strokes and he'd had daily hot tub, massage and physio treatments.

Andre, who had left the island again for a few days, returned to check up on Gordon and was very pleased with how he was progressing. "Another few weeks and we'll see about getting you back into that little submarine of yours."

Gordon shrugged. "I haven't even seen her," he murmured. "Virg says she's been fixed up as good as new but I haven't actually seen her for myself. It's going to sound stupid but I miss her. That might make me sound crazy but I do. She's my girl, my lady, my…" Gordon shrugged again. "Well, she's just…mine. Alan takes her out sometimes but it's me she comes home to every night. It's me who cleans her up when she gets messy, who cares for her and tends to her wounds, so to speak, when she's hurt." Gordon let out a dry chuckle. "But obviously I haven't done any of that recently. Virgil and Brains have cleaned her and patched her up. It's them who have resprayed, buffed and polished her. I haven't done any of that. Have I?"

Andre shook his head. "I don't suppose you have. Look, Gordon, if you're missing her so badly then would you like to pay her a visit? You owe me a guided tour, after all."

Gordon leaned sideways and peered past the doctor. Surprisingly none of his immediate family members were in sight and the redhead grinned. "Just watch them try and keep me away from my baby. I may not be up to climbing inside yet but there's nothing to stop me doing a full and in-depth tour. Four might be small but she's mighty. Come on, Doctor Levenson, this way. Before someone comes and tries to stop us."

~#~

Gordon and the doctor slowly made their way through the maze of passages under the house and then used the monorail system to get down to Thunderbird 2's massive hangar. Andre watched as Gordon propped himself against the wall behind the great green leviathan and frowned slightly when the aquanaut then seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time pressing seemingly-random buttons on a small computer panel set into the rock face. "Gordon…" he began and then stopped when a loud mechanical clattering sound started up behind him. "What the...?"

Gordon straightened up and grinned. "I figured it'd be easier for me to deal with the pod in here rather than down the tunnel," he explained. "You've been introduced to the Mole, Domo and Firefly, haven't you?"

Andre nodded so Gordon continued. "…and they were down there at the time, weren't they?" Gordon pointed down the passageway where the pods were slowly emerging from.

Andre nodded again. "It was a little cramped," he replied slowly. "…but I assumed that was normal and had been done to save either space, money or simply because the tunnel couldn't physically be made any wider without risk to the stability of the roof."

Gordon chuckled quietly and then reached out and gently nudged the doctor back over a yellow-painted line on the floor. Andre didn't have long to ponder the manoeuvre because less than thirty seconds later Pod 4 came to a halt directly in front of him. "I see," he chuckled. "Thunderbird 4 in Pod 4. That makes sense, I suppose."

"Usually," Gordon corrected him. "She's _usually_ in Pod 4 because it makes for less chance of a misunderstanding. Occasionally she has to be transported in one of the other pods though, if we know in advance that we're going to need her as well as one of the other, bigger pieces of machinery on the same rescue. She's easier to manoeuvre into and out of the pods than the Mole, for example. That's big, cumbersome and can create chaos in a confined space if someone isn't careful enough. Four is small, light and surprisingly manoeuvrable on dry land so can drive out of Pod 4 into, say, Pod 6. We try not to do that if we can get away with it though. 'Virgil calling Thunderbird 4 in Pod 6'…it's kind of messy."

The doctor smiled. "I understand. I noticed that Scott and Virgil opened the pods using the touch pad on the front. It's not going to be easy for you to do while you've got the crutches. Do you need me to help?"

Gordon shook his head and shuffled backwards. He motioned to Andre to do the same and then reached down and pressed a button on his watch. The touch pad on the front of the pod lit up, flashed several times and beeped before a click was heard and the pod door began to drop forwards.

~#~

The door swung slowly down until it impacted with the floor with a loud clang. Gordon looked into the pod with a melancholy expression on his face and then climbed slowly up the ramp and stood beside Thunderbird 4. He rested his hand against the gleaming yellow paintwork of the tiny submarine and sighed. "Hey, baby, I've missed you. I'm sorry I haven't been to visit for a while but I just haven't been up to it. I'm here now though and I'm going give you a good check-over. I want to see for myself that my one and only little brother hasn't caused you any permanent damage."

The end of Gordon's quiet one-sided conversation had been overheard by Doctor Levenson who walked up behind the aquanaut and rested a hand gently on his shoulder. Gordon jumped slightly and turned to cast a sad look at the doctor. "Sorry," he murmured. "I guess I've missed being down here more than I'd thought. She's…Thunderbird 4, she's special to me. She gives me freedom, a purpose and a reason to get up some mornings. Anyone can do what I do when I second with Virgil in Two. Anyone can help Brains with his designs or with the practicalities of building the machines but no-one…and I mean no-one can do what I can do with Four. Alan does his best but he's an astronaut at heart. He doesn't have the patience or the empathy that's needed to work under the ocean. He doesn't worry about causing undue damage to the flora or fauna that live down there and he doesn't respect that the ocean is a living, breathing entity that can kill you in a matter of seconds…as demonstrated by the fact that he holed my baby and came close to never surfacing with her again."

As he was speaking, Gordon had been gradually sliding his way along the side of Thunderbird 4 with his hand flat against the slick, shiny paintwork. "Virgil's done a good job," he whispered reverently. "If I didn't know what Alan had done to her then I wouldn't have been able to tell by looking…or feeling. You're all OK now, baby. Uncle Virg has fixed you up real good and you're as good as new."

Andre patted Gordon's shoulder again in an act of silent support. He knew from previous conversations with Jeff, Virgil and Brains that there was no way that Gordon would be able to climb up into the little ship and began to question the wisdom of asking Gordon to show him the sub.

As the doctor was silently berating himself Gordon had continued his slow slide down the side of his 'bird. The aquanaut had run out of engine pod and was staring at the bright red rocket boosters with an almost angry look on his face.

"Gordon," Andre prompted. "Gordon, what's wrong?"

Gordon let out a loud, aggravated growl, spun round and pulled himself up until he was resting on the nearest booster. He waved his arm in the direction of the front of Thunderbird 4 and then rested his elbows on his knees and dropped his head into his hands. "Sorry," he groaned. "It's just…"

The doctor looked in the direction that Gordon had pointed and realised that the aquanaut had dropped his crutches near to the front of the little sub and had then used Thunderbird 4 for support as he had travelled down the pod. "I see," he murmured. "You didn't really think that through very well; now did you?"

"Nope." Gordon shook his head and lifted his face from his hands. "I think the excitement of finally getting down here again must have made me lose a few of my sensibilities. Would you fetch them for me, please?"

"Your sensibilities?" Andre asked with a grin. "…or your crutches? The latter I can do, the former…well, maybe not so much."

Gordon raised an eyebrow at the doctor. "John," he said bluntly. "You've been talking to John. He's been trying to taint your perception of me. I'm right, aren't I?"

Andre grinned again. "He was in a surprisingly mellow mood the other evening after you'd gone to bed. He was wired from one of the rescues and I think Scott had plied him with slightly too much of Jeff's best Scotch in the hope it would make him sleep. It didn't seem to help in that respect but it certainly relaxed him to the point where he was being talkative and almost playful. It's not a side of John that I've seen before and I have to say that he can hold his own against the other two surprisingly well when he's had a drink or three inside him."

"Tipsy John's funny," Gordon agreed. "And a wired but tired and tipsy John is even better. Drunk John's useless though, he just falls asleep. Usually with his head on Scott's lap."

Andre nodded and strolled back down Thunderbird 4. He picked up the crutches, wandered back to where Gordon was sitting and helped him back to his feet. "Better?"

"Better." Gordon slowly picked his way around the rear of the submarine and pulled up beside the air lock on the other side. He fiddled with the controls until the door slid open and then stood back and motioned the doctor forwards. "I'm staying here," he murmured. "For obvious reasons but you can have a look inside. Put your foot there and just swing yourself in."

~#~

Gordon and Doctor Levenson stayed in the pod for another half an hour before someone finally came looking for them. Virgil ambled up the ramp, sniffed and then shook his head when he realised that Gordon had broken into the pod's ration store. "I'd have brought you some decent coffee down if you'd asked me," he called. "…but now you've brewed your own I suppose I might as well join you."

Virgil chuckled as he rounded the back of Thunderbird 4 to find his brother and the doctor each sitting one of the red booster rockets that jutted from the back of the submarine. He spotted the coffee sitting on one of the tool benches nearby, poured himself a cup and then handed it to Gordon. "Hang on to that."

Gordon gripped the mug tightly and frowned as Virgil disappeared out of view behind Thunderbird 4. There was a scrabbling noise, some grumbling and then a pause before a pair of sock-covered feet appeared over the edge of the submarine in the space above Gordon's head. Virgil adjusted his stance, grinned down at Gordon and then held his hand out for his coffee.

Gordon rolled his eyes and handed the mug up to his brother. "Show off," he grumbled. "I'm glad to see you thought to take your shoes off though. I wouldn't have wanted you to damage the new paintwork."

Virgil smiled softly. "Are you happy with it? The repairs went better than I could have hoped and I haven't had her out in the open air yet but out there…" he pointed over his shoulder towards the door of the pod. "…with the ultra-brights on her she…well, she looks good."

Gordon nodded. "She feels it too. I can't tell where the damage was or where the old paint finishes and the new begins. It's all blended together perfectly."

Virgil inclined his head in reply, took a large swig of his coffee and sighed. Gordon realised that the conversation had come to a temporary halt and leaned back against the back of the submarine. He let out a sigh of his own and then allowed his eyes to slide closed.

Andre, who had been silently observing the interaction between the brothers, finished his coffee and quietly clambered off the booster. He nodded up at Virgil who was watching him, pointed at Gordon and then putting his hands together and held them against his cheek in the universal sign for 'sleep'. Virgil nodded his understanding and gave the doctor a thumbs up before the older man turned and walked quietly away.


	27. Chapter 27

~#~ (Chapter 27)

Gordon's recovery progressed rapidly after his visit to Thunderbird 4. He swapped his crutches for walking canes and spent a great deal of time in the workshop with Virgil and Brains as they worked on the upgrades to the little submarine's lighting trough.

By the time the upgrades were ready to be fitted, Gordon was down to using one cane and was, with help, able to climb aboard Thunderbird 4. He found it uncomfortable to remain seated for extended periods of time but was able to help enough with the testing that he could feel useful and like he was being a benefit to the others.

He stood on the shoreline with Scott, Jeff and Brains while Virgil took the sub into the ocean for testing and helped to wash her down again after the successful test was complete.

~#~

By the end of the next week he had dispensed with the final cane and was carefully walking around the house unaided. He had several short test runs in Thunderbird 4 and returned to base each time cheerful and still relatively comfortable.

A week later he asked to accompany Virgil and Alan on a rescue aboard Thunderbird 2 but remained in the ship for the entire time so as not to risk becoming yet another casualty on the uneven ground around the rescue zone.

This happened several more times, with Gordon being unwilling to leave the safety of Thunderbird 2. His brothers were careful not to draw attention to the fact that he remained inside each time and involved him in the debriefing sessions and post-rescue munchies just as if he'd played an active role in the field.

Gordon, for his part, realised that the others were babying him but found himself unable to take the final step in his recovery. He spent a lot of each rescue in the pod, helped out with first aid for those lucky enough to need it and comforted grieving relatives of those who were not but just couldn't pluck up the courage to set foot outside the pod doors.

Jeff was happy to let Gordon take things at his own pace. He was enjoying having all five boys around him and used Gordon's hesitancy as an excuse to keep John planet-side for as long as possible. In the end this turned out to be both a good and a bad thing. Good in respect that Gordon was forced out of the pod and back onto active duty but bad in that John found himself stuck in the sickroom with a broken ankle, a cracked elbow and a bruised jaw.

~#~

Scott had been sent to Tracy Aerospace to oversee the initial test-flight of their newest satellite retrieval system. Over the years there had been several very near misses between out of date, dead or defunct satellites and their newer, more modern equivalents. More and more of the antiquated devices orbiting the planet were coming to the end of their usefulness and were, one by one, taking it in turns to gradually slip from their intended flight paths and then hurtle earthwards in a burning fireball. The basic design of the TA-229d had been put together long before but had spent the best part of eighteen months tied up by red tape and politics before finally being cleared for production when a shower of debris from a bulky communications satellite made it through the atmosphere intact and destroyed a church, a school and sixteen houses in a small town in western Canada.

International Rescue was called out while Scott was absent. Jeff, who had been trying to be fair on both Alan and John, sent the elder of the two out in Thunderbird 1 and the younger in Thunderbird 2 to team up with Virgil and Gordon.

The rescue was a clear-up and recovery operation after a typhoon had caused chaos near Madagascar and the boys concentrated their efforts on the more hard to reach areas among the many islands in the region. They parked the birds close together with Thunderbird 2 facing Thunderbird 1 so that Gordon and John could keep an eye on one another through the open door of the pod while the blonde manned Mobile Control.

Alan and Virgil took the hover bikes and went in search of the many trapped and wounded people among the devastated villages. They returned the more seriously wounded of these to Thunderbird 2 for treatment and Gordon kept them comfortable while Virgil ferried them to the nearest hospital.

This worked well for the first three islands with a great number of people being saved. By the time the two birds approached their fourth island though, the wind was picking up again.

Virgil landed Thunderbird 2 in a clearing on the edge of a small town. The gently sloped piece of scrubby grassland was roughly square with a parallel bank of trees facing one other down two sides. Several buildings made up the third side and a small dock jutting out into a particularly angry-looking ocean made up the final, lowest edge of the square. Virgil acknowledged that it wasn't the best of places to land but it was the only space on the island big enough to comfortably accommodate both ships. He refused to let John set Mobile Control up in the open air but instead simply lowered the large red piece of equipment down from the bowels of Thunderbird 1 and ordered John to monitor the situation from there.

John, for his part, was happy to agree with his brother, knowing that he would be sheltered from the worst of the wind and rain while he was tucked beneath Thunderbird 1. He activated Mobile Control and nodded to Virgil who in turn motioned to Alan to head off in a northerly direction. Virgil then turned, said a last couple of words to John and nodded at Gordon who he could see watching him from inside the pod beneath Thunderbird 2. The huge green ship was parked on the opposite side of the debris-strewn clearing from her sister ship but Gordon could see well enough and waved in reply as Virgil shot away on his hoverbike.

~#~

Most of the island's inhabitants had taken refuge in their church which was an old but sturdy building that had stood up surprisingly well against the force of the typhoon. Alan and Virgil ran triage on the occupants, patched up the worse of their injuries and then, through worsening wind and rain, collected up a variety of waifs and strays from around the town and delivered them to the church. The locals had decided that they were safest staying in the building that had protected them before and neither Tracy found themselves disagreeing with them. They were treated to coffee which someone had rustled up on a camping-type stove and then stood at the door of the church looking out at the deteriorating weather.

"John," Virgil called on his watch. "What are we looking at weather-wise 'cos it looks pretty grim from where I'm standing."

Despite being tucked beneath Thunderbird 1, John was still struggling with the wind and driving rain. He leant forwards to peer at one of the screens, lost his hat and swore loudly before shouting into his watch so that Virgil could hear him above the wind. "Virg, this is hopeless. From what I can see we're in for an hour, maybe an hour and a half of horrendous weather before it clears up. If you and Alan are safe and dry then stay put for now and we can regroup when it blows over. I'm going to lock down Mobile Control and join Gordon in Two. He's waving a flask at me and I have to say that a set of dry clothes sounds particularly appealing about now."

"I bet it does," Virgil replied softly. "Get yourself over to Gordon, stay put and we'll see you both later."

John used his hand to drag his sodden, floppy hair back out of his eyes and shook his head. "Stay inside, Virg; it's really not good out here. The birds'll be OK but I wouldn't put any guarantees on anyone or anything that isn't bolted down."

Virgil smiled tightly. "Will do…and John, be careful out there."


	28. Chapter 28

~#~ (Chapter 28)

John nodded briefly and flicked the last few switches needed to deactivate Mobile Control. He clipped cables to the hoops on the side of the large red unit, sent it up into the bowels of Thunderbird 1 and then turned to look across the clearing at his brother.

Gordon was pacing like a caged animal, back and forth along the front of the pod. His eyes were clamped on the small blonde figure on the other side of the clearing and he stopped and shook his head when John turned to face him. He pointed to John, the sky, back to John and then waved his hands across each other as he shook his head again.

John leaned out from beneath Thunderbird 1, glimpse upwards and grimaced. He looked left, then right, then at Gordon and shrugged as his brother watched him worriedly. He took a tentative step out from under the rocket-plane and immediately found himself struggling to stay upright as the wind howled around him. He lifted his arm to cover his eyes and took another couple of steps towards the large green craft where Gordon was waiting. Another step followed, followed by several more and then John's left foot became tangled among the fronds of a fallen tree-branch and he fell awkwardly onto his knees onto the rain-slicked grass.

The blonde astronaut paused for a moment and lifted his arm away from his face to gaze between the ship he'd left behind and the sanctuary of Thunderbird 2. One was nearer but smaller and less comfortable inside while Two held his brother, coffee, a shower and a change of clothes. He glanced between the machines again, shook himself and then slowly clambered to his feet. He stumbled as soon as he tried to put weight onto his left foot but forced himself to stay upright and continued his slow journey across the clearing.

John paused against a large rock in the middle of the clearing and looked up to see that Gordon had fetched a blanket from somewhere inside the pod. The aquanaut had unfolded it and was holding it out ready to wrap around his brother as soon as he reached him. John smiled, gave a thumbs up signal and pushed himself off from the rock.

Unfortunately because he had been focussed on Gordon, John hadn't looked before setting off again so hadn't noticed the refuse barrel that was hurtling towards him after having broken free of its mountings. Gordon spotted the bright red cylinder and attempted to shout a warning to his brother but his words were taken by the wind. John was unaware of the danger until the barrel ploughed into him and he went down heavily, finding himself thrown sideways in the dirt as the barrel passed over him.

Gordon watched helplessly as John reached out to find something stop himself sliding down the slick, muddy channel torn out by the barrel. There was nothing for the astronaut to grip onto and he began to slide faster down the slope until, with a yelp, he impacted with the concrete dock at the bottom and plunged over the edge into the ocean.

Gordon reacted instinctively and launched himself out of the pod, down the slope and into the ocean at the point where his brother had disappeared. He surfaced and then dived again and repeated the process until his fingers made contact with John's dirty blue uniform. Gordon grabbed his brother's sash, pushed him to the surface and found him to be only semi-conscious. He towed John back to the dock, rolled him onto his side on the rain-soaked concrete and slapped him hard on the back until he vomited up a large amount of ocean. He then half dragged, half walked the dazed astronaut back up the slope, into the pod beneath Thunderbird 2 and closed the door.

~#~

The struggle to get up the hill had helped to rouse John from his semi-stupor and he was able to wheeze a quiet 'thanks' to Gordon as the aquanaut stripped him out of his soaked uniform and wrapped him in a blanket. Gordon placed a bucket near John's feet while he peeled himself out of his own uniform and then threw on a pair of shorts and set about tending to his brother's wounds.

As well as the damage to John's ankle which Gordon was aware of from seeing him tangle with the tree, there was blood seeping from a gash beneath his jaw. John was unaware of the injury until Gordon gently pressed a cloth against it and then discovered that he had also damaged his elbow when Gordon prodded the grossly swollen joint prior to wrapping it in an ace bandage.

"Ow," John grumbled quietly. "That hurts."

Gordon crouched down in front of his brother, unscrewed the cap of a bottle of water and pressed it into John's hand. "I'm not surprised. Hitting a concrete kerb at who-knows-what speed would do that to you. How are you feeling in yourself? Any aches, pains or general ickiness that you haven't told me about?"

"General aches, general pains and general ickiness," John replied with the ghost of a chuckle and he took a swig of the water, swilled his mouth out and spat into the bucket by his feet. The water came away bloody and both brothers grimaced.

"Tell me I haven't lost any teeth," John groaned.

Gordon gently pinched his brother's chin and checked John's bottom teeth before tipping his head back and checking the top. "All present and correct," he announced. "…although I can't guarantee they're all as securely fixed in place as they were before you left home this morning. You might be best to get them checked once that…" Gordon pointed to John's jaw. "…that…" Gordon pointed to John's elbow this time. "…and that…" Gordon waved in the general direction of John's foot. "…have healed. In the meantime, I think a couple of loose teeth are the least of your worries."

John smiled and cocked his head to one side. "What hit me anyway? One minute I was looking at you and thinking how good that…this blanket looked and the next…'Blam', I was down and apparently out."

"It was a bin," Gordon replied. "…or a barrel. Or a bin barrel, I don't know. It was big, red, barrel shaped and powered by both gravity and the wind. I tried to warn you but you didn't hear me and then it was too late and you'd been hit. You went down like a ton of bricks, the barrel went right over you and sent you careering down the hill where you sort of flopped over the kerb and disappeared from view."

John handed the water bottle back to Gordon and pulled the blanket tighter around himself. "Then what?"

Gordon shrugged. "I came and pulled you out. I made sure you were breathing, made you puke up half the Indian Ocean and then brought you back here. The rest, you remember…or at least I hope you do."

"I do." John nodded and then cocked his head to one side and studied his brother. "You took on the big wide world and the ocean to make sure I was safe, Gords. That was brave of you, really brave and from the bottom of my heart I thank you."

Gordon froze for a moment and John briefly wondered if he should have refrained from saying anything until a beaming grin spread across Gordon's face. John found himself engulfed in a tight hug before Gordon sat down heavily in front of him and slapped his watch to connect himself to the island.

"Dad," he cried. "Dad, it's Gordon, can you hear me?"

The face of Gordon's watch sprang to life and Jeff's face appeared. "Gordon, you don't need to announce yourself now that Virgil's got your portrait working again. I know it's you when you call in again. Remember?"

Gordon smiled widely and nodded. "I remember, it's just that I wanted to tell you something. It's big, Dad and I wanted you to be the first…" Gordon paused and looked at John with an apologetic look on his face. "…um…second, I wanted you to be the second person to know but the first person I told."

Jeff looked even more bemused but the inanely happy look on Gordon's face soon had him smiling. "Gordon," he murmured gently. "What do you want to tell me?"

"What?" Gordon replied. "Oh…um…well, I'm fixed. I went outside…out in the field, Dad. I just…I didn't think, I just went and…and…I wanted to let you know."

Jeff let out a loud, joyful whoop and answered Gordon's grin with one of his own. "Well, son, that's fantastic news. I knew it would just be a matter of time but very, very well done. I'm proud of you."

Gordon basked in the praise and wriggled where he sat. In the process his arm moved slightly and Jeff caught a glimpse of a naked shoulder.

"Gordon," he asked quietly. "…while it's not unusual to see you in a state of undress I'm finding myself wondering what happened to your uniform. I know you've been outside and I know it's raining but surely it's not so heavy that it's soaked through everything?"

John snorted at this and then coughed loudly, cleared his throat and spat into the bucket. Gordon grimaced and turned back to Jeff. "It's not far off that bad out there, to be honest but I wasn't out there long enough for the rain to get me that wet. I was in the ocean. That got me wetter far quicker than the rain ever could."

"Gordon!" Jeff could barely believe what his son was telling him. "We've just got you back. What in hell's name were you doing in the ocean in the middle of a storm? We could have lost you completely."

John pressed the button on his watch to join in the conversation. "You could have lost both of us," he murmured quietly. "Don't have a go, Dad. Gords was only in the ocean 'cos he'd come after me. I pretty much messed up most of my left side and knocked myself partly senseless so I wouldn't have got out without help. If Gords hadn't come for me then you'd have been down to four sons and International Rescue would've been down their chief astronaut."

Jeff paled as he gazed at the bedraggled, blanket-wrapped form of his second-born son. "I'm sorry, Gordon. I should have known that you wouldn't put yourself at risk without good cause. Well done. As long as you're both alright then I guess you can fill me in on the details when you get home."

Gordon nodded vaguely and looked at John who smiled back at him with heavy-lidded eyes. "Dad, we're going to sign off now. If I don't get Johnny up and in the shower in the next few minutes then there's going to be a mostly-naked, sleeping astronaut curled up in here when Virgil gets back…and I don't think either party would be particularly pleased about that."

"No, I don't suppose they would," Jeff chuckled. "Keep an eye on each other, you two. Oh, and John?"

John lifted his arm back up from where he'd let it fall to rest on his knee. "Don't fly myself home, right?"

"Right. I want you to stay with Gordon. He'll look after you and make sure you get home in one piece. Alan can bring One back once the storm passes. Gordon?"

Gordon frowned slightly. "Dad?"

Jeff smiled. "Get dressed."


	29. Chapter 29

~#~ (Chapter 29)

Gordon dragged John to his feet and helped him into the shower with the promise of coffee once he was warm and dry. John leant heavily against the wall and let the hot water sluice over him for several minutes before he awkwardly soaped and rinsed himself off. He had to ask for help in removing the lid of the shampoo bottle but managed to one-handedly wash his hair once Gordon had opened the cap and squeezed a large dollop of the shampoo onto his head.

When John was done, Gordon tied a towel around his waist and propped him up on one of the beds in the sickbay. He handed John a steaming mug of coffee and smiled as his brother let out an appreciative sigh and leant back against the head of the bed.

"Don't go to sleep yet," Gordon murmured. "I know that's what you want and probably what you need but you need to finish your drink and get dressed first. OK? Your clothes are at the end of the bed. Are you going to need help with them?"

John shrugged sleepily. "I'll yell if I do. You go and get showered. I'll be here when you get back."

~#~

Gordon finished his own coffee before showering. Like his brother he revelled in the powerful spray of hot water and spent far longer than normal in the bathroom. Once he was done he wandered into the sickbay to find John exactly where he'd left him but fast asleep. He had managed to get at least part-way dressed before sleep had taken him and Gordon smiled tenderly as he pulled a dry blanket from the cupboard and spread it over him.

~#~

Once the storm abated, Virgil and Alan finally made it back to the clearing. Virgil keyed the entry sequence into the panel on the pod door and the pair trudged inside.

"No welcoming committee," Alan commented quietly. "I'd got kind of used to Gordon having a coffee ready when we got back."

Virgil looked around the pod, frowned and pointed at the pile of sodden uniform at the base of one of the dark green walls. "I can see Gordon's sash there as well as John's. It looks like the others have run into some…difficulties here while we've been swapping stories with the locals. The sickbay's the logical place to start looking, let's head there."

Alan held out his arm and waved it in Virgil's direction. "Shouldn't we…?"

"Only if we can't find them," Virgil shook his head. "Something's happened, that much is obvious and the fact that Gordon's not here to meet us tells me that he's 'A', still dealing with it, 'B', that he's dealt with it and got side-tracked onto something else entirely or 'C', that he's tried to deal with it, failed and has gone into hiding somewhere. Whichever option, he doesn't need a sudden radio call to disturb him. OK?"

Alan shrugged. "I guess so, when you put it like that. What about John though? He's not here either."

Virgil rolled his eyes and growled softly. "I haven't been out of your sight for the best part of three hours. Why would I know any more than you?"

"Hey, I was only thinking aloud." Alan held his hands up in defeat. "You didn't need to answer me, let alone bite my head off. I'm just worried, that's all."

Virgil carefully reined in what could have been a snappy reply and sighed loudly as he patted Alan on the back. "I know. I am too. I'm also tired, dirty and in dire need of a good, hot, home-cooked meal. Once we find the others and get confirmation that the Red Cross are ready to take over, then we can go home. OK?"

~#~

By now the pair had reached the door to the sickbay. Virgil put a finger to his lips, gently tugged Alan into a safer position behind him and then slid the door open.

He peered through the doorway and frowned as he stepped forward into the dimly lit room.

"What is it?" Alan hissed from behind him. "Virg? What do you see?"

Virgil quietly hushed him and beckoned him to follow as he crept across the room and paused beside the bed which he could see held one of his two missing brothers. Alan continued a little further into the room and stopped on the opposite side of the bed where he found Gordon, sprawled in a chair, fast asleep.

"Gordy looks OK," he whispered. "I think he's just asleep."

"That's more than can be said for John," Virgil replied quietly. "He hasn't had an easy couple of hours although his hair's wet and he smells clean so I'd say he must have showered before he lay down."

Alan stepped away from Gordon and stood opposite Virgil. "His arm..."

"…is injured." Both Virgil and Alan visibly jumped as Gordon uncurled himself and scrambled off the chair. "I'm not sure how badly but it's swollen and he's none too keen on it being touched. As to why it's tucked inside his shirt like that…well I guess that's the best he could do without asking me for help."

Virgil raised an eyebrow at the aquanaut who shrugged. "I left him here with instructions to get dressed while I showered. I…I guess I may have taken longer in there than I thought 'cos when I got back he was asleep; more or less like he is now but without the blanket. I covered him over and sat down to keep an eye on him but things obviously didn't quite work out how I planned."

Virgil leaned across the bed and patted Gordon's hair. "You're wet."

"I know," Gordon replied with a frown. "I just told you I took a shower. Are you feeling alright, Virg?"

Virgil shook his head to clear it and then put his hand up and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry, you're right. You did say that you'd showered. Look, I think we need to tell Dad we're going to take a break and we need to lock the birds down and sleep. I'm in no fit state to fly home and neither is he…" Virgil pointed at John and frowned. "You're going to have to take One back, Al and you…" he leaned over and jabbed Gordon in the chest with his finger. "…haven't told us how John got in this state, nor why you needed to shower. We saw all the uniform in the pod. It was completely soaked, almost like you'd been swimming in it or something."

Gordon looked down at his quiet brother on the bed. "I kind of did…and so did John. He…he…" Gordon bit down hard on his lip as he tried to stop himself from crying but failed and a tear rolled slowly out of his eye and down his cheek. "He should have never tried to leave One. He was safe over there. I tried to tell him to stay put but he either didn't see me or he didn't understand what I was trying to say. Dad's already given me a balling out for going into the water and now you're having a go as well. I wasn't going to just leave him semi-conscious in the ocean without at least trying to get him back. Even if I didn't manage it then at least I could have said that I'd tried."

Virgil reacted instinctively to the tear on Gordon's face and hurried around the bed, elbowing Alan aside in his haste to reach his second-youngest brother. He wrapped the aquanaut in a hug and rocked him gently. "I'm sorry. We're all tired, tempers are frayed and one of us is hurt which makes things a good hundred times or so worse. Just be glad Scott's not here, he'd have no doubt been worse than both Dad and I put together."

"If Scott was here then none of this would have happened," Gordon argued quietly. "He wouldn't have left One in the first place so he wouldn't have ended up in the water. He'd have locked himself in the cockpit and stayed safely out of harm's way."

There was a quiet cough from the bed. "And you'd have still been stuck in the pod. You were so happy that you'd finally managed to go outside, Gords, don't let anyone, Dad or Scott or anyone put a downer on that. You got over your fear and you came out and saved me. If anyone says that's not one of the bravest things ever then send them my way. I didn't hear all of that but shame on you, Virg."

Colour flushed into Virgil's cheeks as he released Gordon and sat gently on the edge of John's bed. "You look like crap, Johnny," he said softly. "Whatever possessed you to go for a dip in weather like we've just had?"

"I guessed it seemed like a good idea at the time," John replied and chuckled softly. What started as a chuckled ended as a cough and the blonde Tracy rubbed at his chest with the hand of his good arm and groaned. "Doesn't seem like such a good idea now though. You and Al got back with no problems?"

Virgil nodded as Alan murmured a quiet 'yes' from behind him. "We did. I suggested that we might lock down the birds and have a decent break before flying home though. Will you let me check you over first, in case you need to get home more quickly than that? Your arm looks like it could do with sorting out properly too, rather than being tucked in your shirt."

John looked down and nodded vaguely. "Gords stuck me with a pain killing jab earlier but I guess you'll want to start me on something as a precaution against whatever might have been lurking in the water."

"Correct assumption," Virgil nodded again. "Al, go and get yourself changed and have a word with Dad. Get him up to date with what's going on and tell him we'll be staying put for the time being unless I find anything particularly urgent wrong with John." He looked apologetically at his injured brother. "I'm not expecting to, I just want to warn him, just in case."

John nodded and allowed his head to roll slightly to one side so he could see Gordon and smiled at the aquanaut who was standing beside him looking lost. "Virg's got me now, Gords. Why don't you go keep Alan company and then crash in the crew quarters. The beds in there are way more comfy than that chair could ever be."

Gordon shrugged and blinked hard before he realised that Alan had moved to the doorway and was waiting for him. "OK," he replied. "…but will you two…will you be alright in here?"

Virgil stood up and gently turned Gordon towards the door. "We'll be fine. I may be tired and somewhat rough around the edges but I still remember how to patch up broken astronauts. Now go, talk to Dad and then sleep. I'll crash down here with Johnny once I've patched him up."


	30. Chapter 30

~#~ (Chapter 30)

Alan flew Thunderbird 1 sedately alongside her sister ship the whole way home and only peeled away when the island finally came in sight. He put the sleek silver rocket-plane back in her hangar and completed the post-mission checks before heading towards the sickroom where he guessed that everyone would be gathered.

The sickroom was abuzz with voices as Alan approached. He stepped through the open door and shook his head at his family. A portable x-ray machine stood beside the bed where John was lying and Brains, Jeff, Virgil, Gordon and Scott were all gathered around a screen further down the room. Alan wandered up behind them, peered over Gordon's shoulder and shrugged before wandering over to John and sitting on the bed beside him. "You've broken your elbow," he announced quietly. "I don't know why the five of them are staring at it; it's an obvious break."

John chuckled softly. "They're making sure they haven't missed anything," he explained. "Apparently I've broken three bones in my ankle as well as tearing the muscle but the third break only showed up on one x-ray out of three and happened to be spotted by Tin-Tin as she wandered through looking for you. Virg was most upset that he he'd missed it and Brains seemed to take it as a personal insult."

Alan rolled his eyes as he sat forward and scanned the room for his girlfriend.

"She's not here," John murmured. "She decided that it was too busy in here so went up into the house to wait for you. I'm surprised you didn't see her when you came through the lounge."

Alan huffed again. "That's because I didn't come through the lounge. I came up straight here through the tunnels. I assumed this is where everyone would be."

"You weren't far wrong," John replied. "I'm guessing I'll be in here being smothered by that lot for the next hour or so, if you want to go and find her then I'd make your escape while you can. I don't mind. Honest."

Alan wriggled around until he was facing John and gave him a brief hug. "I'm glad you're alright, John," he said softly. "…and thanks. I'll come and see you later when you're all plastered up. Save me a space on your foot. I want to draw Thunderbird 3."

John smiled and returned Alan's hug. "I will, now scoot before the others rope you in to helping diagnose the damage on my jaw. Quick, Al, go."

Alan grinned and shot away from the bed and into the corridor before anyone could stop him. Gordon watched him go and winked at John who grinned and beckoned him over. "He says it's an obvious break," John whispered. "Is it?"

Gordon chuckled as he sat down on the bed. "About as obvious as it could get," he replied. "You're going to be uncomfortable for a while but it's all good, fixable stuff. You'll be back out in the field before you know it."

John slid sideways slightly and allowed his head to rest on Gordon's shoulder. "I was thinking of suggesting that I recuperate up on Thunderbird 5. I've got to go back up there at some point and it's not like I'll be out of touch with anybody. I can hobble around as slowly as I want up there and no one needs to tend to me nor worry about hovering over me all the time. I'll only suggest it if you're OK with the idea. I don't want to go back if you still need me."

Gordon rested his head against his brother's. "I'll always need you, Johnny," he replied. "But it's not like you're going to be hours away like you were in college. I know I can get you anytime of the day or night if I want a chat and if all else fails then I can commandeer Alan and Thunderbird 3 and they can bring you back down for a visit." Gordon paused and looked around the room. "I'm not sure what Dad would think of that idea but he misses you too, when you're stuck up there. It's why he calls you every night."

John sighed. "I know. I miss it down here too, when I'm up there. I miss up there though, when I'm down here and I've been down here too long, Gords. I need some peace and quiet and some solitude. You're OK now, you're fixed, you have a new, upgraded sub to rescue people in and there's no reason you can't double-team with Virgil and Alan like you used to. I'll be on the end of your watch if you need me, same as I always have. Day, night, whatever. So, will you be OK if I go?"

Gordon knocked his head gently against John's. "Go play with your space station, Johnny. I'm fixed, Four's fixed and to be honest, I can't wait to get back out there again."


End file.
